


Frost Collar

by Thisisentertaining



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012), White Collar
Genre: But not Dark!Guardians, Concerned kind of parental Neal, Criminal Guardians, F/M, Forger!Bunny, Hacker!Tooth, Homeless!Jack, Human AU, Jack get's beat up a couple of times, No set time period, Pickpocket!Jack, Sandy's thing is too hard to name, Thief!North, but he is always awsome, mentions of child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-01
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-01-10 18:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 110,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1163114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisisentertaining/pseuds/Thisisentertaining
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal trailed the lighter’s flame inches up from the painting's corner. There the heat revealed a picture of an oval, decorated with swirls and squiggly lines and dots. Peter scowled at the picture. “An Easter egg?”<br/>“It’s a calling card. I don’t believe it. This guy, he’s- he’s a-“<br/>“A forging legend?”<br/>“More like a myth. Nobody knows much about him. Supposedly part of a four man team, he steals and forges artwork and sends the money to children organizations, all under the same alias: The Easter Bunny."<br/>_<br/>Jack fell back as his mark gripped his arm, the man's wallet still in his grasp as he looked up to face the man that gripped him. He found his gaze locked onto two startling blue eyes and a fedora.<br/>"You can either slip our wallets back into my hand now, or I tell my friend here what you just did. He’s in the FBI, and I can promise you that he won’t be nearly as impressed with your little thieving act as I am.”<br/>_<br/>"Get to the point Baby Tooth."<br/>"The Big Four were talking about sending a mole to leak information about Pitch to the FBI... and I thought of you."<br/>-<br/>A chance meeting turns into something more, and Jack seems to be stuck in the center.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Late Walk

**Author's Note:**

> I can't promise regular updates, but right now the ideas are flowing so I will try to post as often as I can.  
> I wanted to come up with some time reference from one of the White Collar episodes, but I kept on making references, and I'm not sure what season they're from, so... they are after season four, that's for certain, but before stuff starts getting tense in season five. ... IDK.

Neal whistled lowly as he crouched over the painting. Whoever did this was good, really good. The brush strokes were perfect, shading was spot on. He could almost be convinced that it really was _The Railway_ by Edouard Manet that was sitting in front of him. That is, if he hadn’t been Neal Cafferey. He stood up from his spot leaning over the table.

            “It’s good, but definitely a forgery.”

            The art’s owner scoffed angrily. “Our appraiser already told us that, we want to know _who_ did it and when they swapped this one for the real one.”

            The CI shared a glance with Peter, letting the agent speak both of their doubts. “Maybe you should consider the possibility that it was never switched. It’s not impossible that you bought-“

            “We had it appraised after we bought it.” The man interrupted snidely. “It was the original then.”

            “And when was that?” Peter asked.

            The man scowled slightly before reluctantly answering. “About seven years ago.”

            Neal smirked. “So we have to find out when in the past seven years this painting had been forged and swapped, who did it, and how they did it. Sounds like fun.”

            “Neal.” Peter said warningly, shooting the art thief a warning look. The conman simply raised his eyebrows and shrugged. The agent sighed before turning to the irate man who had brought the forgery in. “We’ll get right on the case and contact you if we discover anything.”

            The man scowled. “I had a buyer lined up for this, what do you expect me to tell him?”

            “I hear the truth is a wonderful thing.” Neal answered, making Peter scoff. Jones smirked at the CI as well.

            “Really Caffery?”

            “Do as I say, not as I do.” The man shrugged. Jones smiled and Peter simply rolled his eyes as he continued to escort the piece’s owner out the door. As the men left Neal resumed his study of the painting.

            “See anything?” Jones asked with a slight sigh.

            “I don’t know. It just seems weird. This is almost perfect, the shading, brushstokes, texture, but everything is just a shade or two off. The dress is too bright a blue, the woman’s skin is too tan. You don’t make a forgery this good and mess up in the coloring. Something’s up. Whoever made this wanted it to be discovered.”

            “Why not make it more obvious? Especially if he wanted it to be discovered.”

            “To prove you could make a perfect copy if you wanted to. Come on, you gotta have a little flair.”

            Jones smirked. “Only you Cafferey. So, you really don’t have any ideas?”

            Neal leaned even closer to the canvas, eyes scouring the art as though looking for a hidden message within the strokes. Suddenly, his nose burned with a familiar scent and his eyes narrowed as he attempted to place it. Closing his eyes he inhaled the scent. It kind of reminded him of… “Easter eggs…” He mumbled to himself. “Vinegar!”

            His eyes shot open as he straightened, a wild grin crossing his face. “No way.” He breathed.

            “What?” Jones asked, coming to lean over the canvas as well. “Did you find something?”

            Neal whirled on the man. “Jones. I need you to see if any local children’s organizations have gotten any sudden large donations.” Without another word he left the room and stalked into the White Collar main office. “Does anyone smoke? I need a lighter.”

            An agent quickly handed him one and he disappeared back into the room, bumping into a fairly confused Jones as the man left for his computer to do the research. Neal wasted no time in laying out the painting, trailing the lighter’s flame inches up from the upper left hand corner. Peter came in and watched the CI in silence until Neal gasped in victory.

            There, in the corner the heat had revealed a picture of an oval, decorated with swirls and squiggly lines and dots. Peter scowled at the picture. “An Easter egg?”

            Neal nodded, an amazed expression on his face. “It’s a calling card. I don’t believe it. This guy, he’s- he’s a-“

            “A forging legend?”

            “More like a myth. Any good forger’s heard about him, but most people don’t really think he exists. Part of this mystical team that sounds more like fiction than fact. They all have rap sheets a mile long, some of the most incredible cons in the last few decades. Almost anything that you haven’t solved, they did.”

            “Really? Sounds a little too good to be true to me. You sure they’re not just some kind of big scapegoat.”

            “If they were, you would have heard about them a long time ago.”

            Peter couldn’t argue with that. “So do you know who the forger is or don’t you?”

            “Nobody knows his name. He’s just known as his alias, closer to a codename really.”

            “Which is?”

            Neal opened his mouth to answer, but before he could utter a word Jones returned. “I found it. There was no huge donation to any one place, but there were several well sized ones to a bunch of different organizations. All under the same anonymous… alias.”

            Peter sighed deeply through his nose. “And this mysterious alias is…?”

            Jones sent a withering look at the conman. “Do I have to say it?”

            Neal just smirked back smugly. “Oh, I think you should.”

            “The donations were all given by… The Easter Bunny.”

* * *

 

Jack Frost grinned from the alleyway, leaning up against his crooked staff as he tested his foot against the ground. His smile strengthened when his ankle held firm. It’d been broken a couple of months ago and he’d never been able to let it heal properly. He’d done the best he could, making a paper Mache cast, resting when he could afford to, even setting it himself. However, it was hard to do much relaxing when you were on the run, and living on the streets of New York certainly wasn’t prime restorative conditions. The injury had still taken forever to heal and it occasionally gave out on him from time to time. Carrying the shepherds crook around town as a makeshift cane had seemed awkward at first, but he’d gotten used to it pretty quickly. He’d had the stick forever after all, now he just had an excuse to use it.

            The teen’s stomach rumbled slightly as he leaned his staff against the dumpster that lay in the alley, cautiously testing his foot without it. He’d been healing long enough, it was time to get back in the game. He had to, after all. All of his emergency money was gone and he needed cash badly. Taking a deep breath the boy checked his watch: 7:50. Perfect. He grinned and hoisted his backpack higher up on his shoulders before suddenly sprinting out of the alleyway.

            “Crap!” He yelled loudly as his running caught attention. “Mom’s gonna kill me if she hears I was late again.” Almost immediately he was dismissed; half because of the excuse, and half because everyone in this part of town ignored homeless little Jack Frost. Oh well, it made things easier for him, he didn’t care if people ignored him. Not much.

            He ricochets down the street, blurting out apologies as he bumped into people, discretely pulling wallets out of pockets and purses as he ran.

            “Sorry sir! Late, not again.” He mumbled to himself, bumping into a businessman with a nice suit and thick wallet. As he spun away from the scowling man, he genuinely tripped into an woman carrying groceries, sending food flying. He speedily picked up the food with a barrage of hurried apologies, managing to slip a box of Milano’s into the pouch of his hoddie as he scurried away. He continued down the street, squeezing himself between a pair of men and reaching out with both hands to simultaneously grab both wallets, only to be jerked back with a yelp as one of the men gripped his arm.

            He fell back with the change in inertia, almost falling against the man before he was able to regain his balance. As the teen stood he studied the men more closely, taking notice of his marks for the first time in a while. Colleagues probably, or friends. They certainly knew each other at least. Both were fairly tall but that was where the similarities ended. The one gripping him was slender, with dark hair and eyes so blue that they almost matched Jack’s. He wore what looked like a high end suit and a fedora and was watching Frost with a look that was simultaneously stern and proud. His friend on the other hand was older, with a much more muscular build and average suit. He was watching the fedora-man with confusion.

            “Neal, what-“

            The other, Neal, didn’t let the man speak, interrupting almost immediately to whisper in the teen’s ear. “You can either slip our wallets back into my hand now, or I tell my friend here what you just did. He’s in the FBI, and I can promise you that he won’t be nearly as impressed with your little thieving act as I am.”

            Jack only stared in shock for a moment. He had been caught. He had actually been _caught_! He never got caught, he was invisible and as swift as the wind. At least, he used to be. Stupid foot. Still, this guy seemed a little smarter than the average bear, maybe he would be fun to play with. Jack grinned softly before whispering back. “I’m pretty impressive, aren’t I?” He chuckled softly. “What do you think would happen if I yelled ‘you’re not my dad’ really loudly? That’s what they’re telling the kids to say these days when strangers approach them.”

            Hat-man’s eyebrows rose and he straightened, his voice returning to normal volume when he realized Jack wasn’t going to hand over the wallets. “Then my friend here will start flashing his badge. I don’t think you want this whole area to know what you’ve been up to, now do you?” His voice dropped once more. “Hey, I’m all for letting you keep the rest, that was solid work you did back there, but he won’t be if you get him involved. He’s a real goody-two-shoes-stickler-for-the-law type. Now, are you going to do it or are we going to have problems?”

            Jack scowled for a moment. Really he wouldn’t mind losing a couple of wallets- he doubted Neal’s friend had much on him anyway- but if he gave it then the game would be over, and it had been so long since he’d had someone to play with. His scowl turned into a smirk. “Fine.” He conceded, a little too loudly. “I’ll give you what you want if you’ll just let me go.”

            All around people stopped, and Neal’s friend sighed as he reached into his pocket- probably to grab a badge- but as soon as they recognized the teen in the stranger’s hold, interest was immediately lost and they were ignored once more. Jack couldn’t help but scowl. Predictable really, no one ever paid attention to the vagabond prankster who was on the bad side of practically every gang in the area. The teen shrugged at the man still holding his arm in a vice grip. “Meh. It was worth a shot.”

            He reached into his hoodie’s pouch to pull out the folded leather when Neal’s friend suddenly interrupted. “Neal, what is going on? You have some kind of grade school spy network now?”

            Jack scowled at the man- he was kind of short for fifteen but he knew he looked older than a grade-schooler. Neal just smiled winningly. “I’d prefer the name: Cafferey’s Baker Street Irregulars.”

            The agent just stared at the two for a while, his eyes lingering at the tight grip Neal had to enforce just to get the teen to stay put. “I’m not buying it.” With a double finger point he led the two to an alleyway out of the crowded sidewalk. Neal sighed but followed, dragging a reluctant Jack behind into the closed off backstreet. Trapped. This game just got a lot less fun.

            Neal let go of the teens arm and Jack immediately put distance between himself and the two strangers. The men stood side by side, effectively blocking the entrance. The three remaining walls of the alleyway were all solid brick, any windows tightly closed and locked. A fire escape lay against one wall, but the ladder was up too far for him to grab. Jack felt a trill of fear but forced a smile upon his face as he turned, keeping tight reign of the emotions that showed. Control was the name of the game, after all.

            He moved his hands around in his hoodie’s pocket, attempting to find the correct wallets while keeping an eye on the two men still blocking his path. Neal was standing with a relaxed confidence, watching Jack carefully. His friend was stiff, alternating his stern scowl between Jack and his companion. Finally the teen gave up attempting to maneuver around the bag of cookies and pulled them out, stuffing the bag into the cup holder on the side of his backpack before rummaging for the wallets once more. Neal chuckled softly and nodded to the cookies.

            “Next time, try grabbing an apple. The disappearing cookies were a little conspicuous.”

            Jack frowned slightly, finally feeling the right textures of leather amid the several in the pouch. He deftly slid the cash out of the billfolds as he answered. “She didn’t notice a thing.”

“No, but I did.”

The teen paused for a moment, thinking, before giving a reluctant nod. So that was how the man had found him out. He pulled out one of the wallets, throwing the folded leather to the ground in front of the man. “Fine. That one’s yours, and this one,” He began, pulling out the friend’s and opening it, “Is yours Mr. Peter Burke.” He threw it down beside the other after getting a peek of the license.   

            Suddenly Jack paused, his mind running a million miles a second as he recognized the name. Dimly he heard Peter groan- “Oh great, a mini-Neal,” before his breath caught in excitement.

            “Wait a minute, Peter Burke and Neal… You’re Neal Cafferey!” Jack laughed, delighted at meeting the renowned forger and thief. His eyes lit to the FBI agent standing beside the criminal, the man rolling his eyes as though frustrated by Neal’s fame among thieves. “And you’re _the_ Peter Burke, the one that caught him. Oh this is great, the mortal enemies turned FBI’s best power couple.” He laughed, leaning up against the dumpster in the back of the alley, much more relaxed now that he knew just who he was dealing with. Suddenly his eyes widened and he straightened, his voice going higher when he spoke, his tone reminiscent of a girl at the concert of the media’s current boy toy. “Wait a minute, this means that I lifted Neal Caffery’s wallet.”

            “You got caught lifting Neal Caffery’s wallet.” The conman quickly interjected. “Speaking of, I’d like my cash back too.” Jack scowled and darted forward to shove a wad of his and Peter’s cash into the man’s hand before darting away again.

            “Fine. I didn’t really expect that to work anyway.” He meandered back until he was near the dumpster again, deftly hopping to sit on it and desperately attempting to get off of his foot before it decided to do anything crazy. “What are you guys doing out here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be checking Spanish bonds or looking for an old Bible or something?”

            Both men stiffened and Peter growled at the boy. “How did you hear about those investigations?”

            The teen shrugged. “In case you didn’t notice out there, I’m invisible. I hear everything. Especially in this town, you want to know anything I’m your guy.”

            “You’re an informant?” Peter asked, seeming incredulous, “A scrawny kid like you in a dangerous place like this?” He gestured to the surrounding dilapidated buildings, distinct but hidden gang signs surrounding them.

            The teen shrugged. “Giving tips to the gangs pays good. They’d pay anything to get information on each other, and almost as much to keep some of their skeletons in their closets.”  
            Neal stepped towards him now, making Jack stand atop the dumpster. “That doesn’t sound safe.”

            “Occupational hazard.” Jack answered, before a smirk split his face. “Besides,” He drawled, moving to the back of the dumpster. “Like I said I’m invisible.” He lunged forward, jumping off of the edge of the trash with just enough force to get a grip on the bottom of the fire escape. He wasted no time in pulling himself up, his arms conditioned to be much faster and stronger than his legs. Once safe he leaned back to smile at the surprised pair. Both had rushed forward when the teen leaped and were now staring in shock under the escape. “and invisible makes for a pretty good escape artist. See ya,” He began to leave, only to stop as he remembered something. “Oh yeah.” Deliberately he pulled out all of the wallets, emptying them of their cash and wiping them down of the front of his T-shirt before pointedly tossing their empty shells to the men’s feet. “I found some wallets. Thought I should turn them in to the FBI. Thanks.”

            With that he turned and scurried up the connecting ladders before managing to disappear into the roof. When he finally managed to clamor onto the roof he let out a sigh, leaning against a turbine and gently probing his ankle. That was too close. He almost hadn’t reached the fire escape. A low, relieved chuckle worked his way out of his mouth. That could have been embarrassing.


	2. For Once, Then, and Something

Peter growled angrily, biting into his lunch with gusto. Neal chuckled beside him, biting into his own sandwich with his natural grace. “I told you that we wouldn’t get much. These guys are practically invisible.”

            “When you said you had a source I didn’t think it would be some nut crazier than Mozzie blathering about the ‘Guardians of Childhood’ defeating ‘the Boogeyman’.”

            “I tried to warn you there was nothing there. Really, until yesterday I didn’t believed that they existed.”

            Peter sighed. “Fine. Just... from what the kook said, what do you know is true?”

            “Nothing Peter. These guys are so under the radar that Mozz had barely heard of them. Absolutely everything is rumor and myth, no substance.”

            “Are there any consistencies in the rumors, at least?”

            “A few. Four people, some say that there is some fifth benefactor who plans everything too. They all have different codenames and talents. The art forger is called the Easter Bunny, but I was never interested enough in the rest to look into them. They always donate the proceedings from their heists to children’s organizations and they usually steal from corrupt companies or criminals or something. They’re kind of like vigilantes. And as ridiculous as it sounds, they do refer to themselves as ‘The Guardians’.”

            “… And?”

            “Sorry Peter, that’s really all I got.”

            “Great. Just great.” The man stood from his seat in the deli, Neal following behind as he stacked his tray and left for the car. “It’s noon and we have nothing. The only thing we’re bringing back to the Bureau are a handful of stolen wallets.”

            “Isn’t that a job for the police? Or a left and found somewhere.”

            “Since we retrieved them, we have to document them before we turn them in. Of course. People won’t be happy that they’re getting returned empty either. Stupid kid.”

            “You have to admit, he had style.”

            “He had _your_ style. Sarcastic, brash, with no regard for life or limb as long as he got his loot.”

            “You’re just upset that I caught him and you didn’t.”

            “No, I’m upset because we just wasted four hours listening to the ravings of a conspiracy fanatic that made Mozzie seem sane.”

            “Yeah, Yeah.” Neal said disinterestedly, flipping through the wallets as the argument became circular. Suddenly he sat up. “Wait a minute. James Nuchal, wasn’t he in one of your case files yesterday?”

            Peter nodded, glancing at the ID as he stopped at a light. “The company he worked for has been steadily losing money for a while and their accountants can’t figure out why. They think someone is abusing company credit cards, but we can’t pinpoint who it is. He was one of the main suspects.” 

            “Hmmm.” The CI replied distractedly, searching through the wallet’s pockets. “Well here’s the company card. Certainly been used often enough, look how worn out it is.”

            “Yeah. Unfortunately that isn’t enough to prove anything.”  

            Neal continued to fiddle with the bit of leather for a moment. “Nothing helpful here either. I was hoping to find a receipt but…”

            “If there were any then that kid probably ended up with them when he took out the cash. We can kiss any of those potential leads goodbye.”

            “Come on, why are you being so hard on the kid?”

            “Why? I’ll tell you why. In ten years he’s going to be just like you: sly, cocky as all get out, and on a one way track to prison if he isn’t already there.”

            “Peter-“

            “And that’s if he isn’t killed by one of those gangs he rats on first. Don’t pretend you didn’t see him limp. He’s been hurt and it’s not hard to figure out how. It’s either the gangs or trouble at home. Frankly I don’t know what would be worse. I don’t care how ‘invisible’ he thinks he is, he’s in danger.”

            Neal sighed, knowing that Peter had only spoken the truth. “I’m worried about him too.” He admitted. “But you don’t have to worry about abusive parents, he was homeless.”

            “How can you tell?”

            Neal sighed for a moment, pondering how to pose his answer. Really he wasn’t sure why he was so convinced that the kid was homeless, it was intuition more than anything, but he didn’t want to admit it. “A bunch of little things really. The way everyone ignored him, like he was a stray dog instead of a kid. His clothes were worn down and absolutely disgusting, like he slept on the ground every night. He stole cookies when the woman had plenty of fruit rolling around, even though he had a lot bigger chance of getting caught, like he wouldn’t spare the money to get himself something sweet. Mostly it was how… reckless he was and how desperate he was for attention. I don’t even think he cared about our wallets after I grabbed him, but even after I told him you were FBI he was willing to risk getting arrested just to talk. He doesn’t seem at all worried about the enemies he must have.”

            Peter was nodding unhappily. “Almost like no one would care if he were alive, in jail, or dead.”

            “Exactly.” Neal replied as Peter pulled into the parking lot. “Besides,” he added as they got out of the car. “I’m sure the Burke gut agrees with me.”

            Peter smiled. “Most accurate instrument the FBI has.”

            Neal gave him a matching grin before grabbing the wallets out from the car. “Let’s see if Diana can pick anything up from this before we turn it in, just in case.”

            “Yeah. But I’m pretty sure anything helpful is with the kid: long gone.”

* * *

 

Jack hummed to himself, unsure if the noise was seated in relief or disappointment. It wasn’t necessarily a bad haul, he’d certainly been able to get enough people, but New Yorkers just didn’t carry around much cash anymore. Everyone used credit cards these days. Leaning back against the low railing atop of the roof he was currently trespassing on. For a moment he debated moving to a more touristy area. He would have to change his routine since no tourists would be awake for his ‘late for school’ routine and he was getting a little old to be playing the pitiful lost child. He was sure that he could think of something though.

            Maybe he would only work down there when he really needed money. After all, he though as his mind turned to the two men who had caught him that day, things were so interesting on these streets. He would hate for life to just get boring.

            With a small grin the boy made his way down from the roof, heading to a pizza parlor across the street. The teen leaned slightly on his staff, using it for leverage as he jumped from the fire escape to the dirty ground. He had retrieved it right after escaping from the men who’d caught him, and was thankful for it’s presence as his ankle began to throb.

Jack breathed in deeply as he crossed the street, his mouth watering as he scented the tomato and cheese spiced air from his destination. With a cheeky grin to the waitress he perused the menu. Technically it would be a better deal just to get a large, but he knew that his underfed stomach couldn’t really hold that much and he had no way to keep it from spoiling. With a slight sigh he decided on a medium, knowing that the pie would last at least until dinnertime.

            As he waited for the pizza to bake, he settled into one of the surrounding picnic tables and idly sorted through the receipts he’s found while going through the cash he’d lifted. Sometimes it was fun to go through the slips and try and figure out what his marks’ lives were like. It was nice to imagine a normal life. The only bad part was that he could never really test out his deductions. After all, who knew if the man from this first receipt really had kids, or just really liked Teddy Grahams and juice boxes.

            Mhmm. Three tubs of ice cream, a new dartboard, and two pairs of shoes. Guessing bad break up.

            Two bouquets of roses, a necklace, and a $30 box of chocolates. A guy trying to _avoid_ a bad break up.

            He laughed quietly to himself, glancing up to make sure his food still wasn’t done before moving onto the next one. Oh, this was no fun, a company card. He began to shift the receipt to the back before a semi-familiar name caught the teen’s eye and made his eyebrows shoot to the sky. That must have been some business meeting to take place in the Masa. That was the most expensive restaurant in the city. And considering this was NYC, that meant something. He glanced down the rest of the list, his surprise growing at the various expenses listed. He didn’t think that the company really paid for all _that_! Flipping to the next receipt his surprise only multiplied. Same company, same amount, completely different reasons listed. These actually seemed like genuine expenses. He groaned as he realized that he was holding proof of fraud. Something he was sure that FBI agent and his CI friend would be ecstatic to have.

            The teen eyed the trash can, tempted for a moment to simply toss it and run, but his morals wouldn’t let him. He couldn’t just let this guy get away with theft. With a final groan he jumped up to retrieve his finally finished pizza, picking up a soda before paying and rushing out the door, pizza box in tow.

            He walked down the street slowly, struggling to hold onto his staff and the pizza box and  attempting to bite into the piping hot pie as he made his way down the street. The teen sighed, knowing that he had absolutely no intention of waltzing into the FBI building to hand over a couple of receipts that could possibly mean nothing. Sliding the slips of paper into a protected pocket of his backpack, the pale teen fell onto a bench, pizza sitting on his lap as he people- watched for a moment. The weird bald guy with glasses, Fozzie, or Mo or Curly or something, was back, pretending to read a newspaper as he attempted to get the man sitting across from him to ‘follow proper spy protocol’. Jack allowed himself a small chuckle before lapsing back into an introspective silence. How was he going to contact Neal Cafferey or Peter Burke?

            Suddenly he shot to his feet, nearly losing the cardboard box in his excitement. He’d gotten a look at the Agent’s license, he had his address. The teen closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to remember the house number and street. He grinned when the address finally came to mind, quickly swallowing the last few bites of his lunch and throwing the box away, not bothering to give himself enough time to be surprised that he’d eaten the whole thing in one sitting. He had more important things to think about.

            Moments later the teen stood, throwing his hood up in attempt to cover his face from the chilly air. For a moment he was distracted, his thoughts turning to finding shelter for the coming winter, but he quickly dismissed the concern. He’d managed before, right? For the last three years at least, maybe even beyond that, he wasn’t sure. He couldn’t remember that far back… Suddenly the boy shook, forcibly pulling his thoughts away and turning them to finding Burke’s house.

            Lucky for him the house wasn’t too far from the park. For a moment he simply stared from across the street, watching the row of quaint but homey looking houses. For a fraction of a moment he allowed himself to daydream about what it would be like to have a house like that. A family to welcome you home from school and provide meals. However, he couldn’t let himself ponder that for long. It would only lead to a tanging bitterness, and why have that when you could distract yourself with a bit of fun.

            With a grin he moved towards the house, hopping onto the railing surrounding the house as he eyed the building, setting his staff against the rails. He could just leave it in the mailbox, but who knows if the agent would actually see it. Come to think of it, the pale boy wasn’t even sure that he’d gotten the right place. After all, he only had his memory of seeing a license for a split second to go by. Jumping down to stand on the other side of the fence, he was startled from his thoughts by a loud barking and a golden doggy-head appearing from behind a curtain.

            “Satchmo!” An unfamiliar voice called chidingly from inside the home. The dog gave Jack one last warning bark before disappearing to his master. The white-haired teen grinned before making his way up the steps to the door. Someone was home. This just got easier. Someone who didn’t know who he was. A _whole_ lot easier. With a wide grin the teen rapped his knuckles against the door and leaned back on his staff to wait.

* * *

 

Elizabeth Burke smiled as she inhaled the sweet aroma of tea and settled into the comfy couch as she eyed the folders strewn around the coffee table. She loved working from home. Same workload, much better conditions, and no distracti-

            Her thoughts were interrupted as Satchmo jumped up to the window, barking like a madman. She sighed and called his back, scratching the pooch behind the ears as he obediently moved to lay by her feet. She had just opened a new folder when light tapping sounded at the door. She sighed, sending a joking look at Satchmo as the dog stood to rush to the door. “Maybe I would have gotten more work done if I’d stayed at the office.” She chuckled to herself. “If this is Mozzie than I definitely would have gotten more work done at the office.”

            She moved back the slip of fabric covering the window on the door, starting when instead of the familiar bald head and large glasses; she was met with the sight of stark white hair and a Cheshire grin. Pulling Satchmo back she opened the door, looking to the teen with surprise.

            “Um, hello?”                                                             

            “Hey.” The teen greeted back. “Um, are you Mrs. Burke?”

            “Yes?”

            “Oh good.” The boy swung his backpack around crouching to pull a couple of receipts out of the pocket. “Here, I’m not really sure that they’re anything, or whose they are or anything like that, but I thought they could be so… I mean, could you just get these to your husband? Please?”

            Elizabeth watched with confused amusement when the seemingly collected teen turned into a babbling child with less than two words from her. She smiled as she took the slips of paper, watching with a type of the befuddled amusement as the boy crouched down to pet Satchmo as though he wasn’t standing in front of a complete stranger’s house. The woman’s amazement only grew as she realized what the slips were. “Is this fraud?”

            “It is? Oh good, I was worried I had brought it over here for nothing.” He gave Satchmo one last pat. “So yeah, just give this to Mr.Bu- or Agent- Agent Burke I guess. You can tell him it’s from one of the wallets Jack Frost stole earlier.”

            “Jack Frost?” She repeated, testing out the odd name of the even odder boy. “Wait, stolen wallets?”

            A slight frown crossed the boys lips as his expression shifted to thoughtful. “Oh yeah, I never told them my name. Meh, they’ll get it if you just mention the wallet thing. Thanks, see ya.” He turned as if the hop the fence, but as he shifted Elizabeth caught sight of his slight frame, his skinny arms.

            “Hey, um, Jack? Thanks for bringing me this, but Peter didn’t tell me anything about you. This sounds like a fascination story, but unfortunately my husband isn’t much of a storyteller. Would you like to come in and talk about it over sandwiches?”

            The teen paused, shivering, and looked longingly at the house for a moment before slowly shaking his head. “Nah. Thanks, but I would rather not be around when Agent Burke gets here. I think he’s probably still mad that Neal caught me lifting their wallets before he did. Besides, I just managed to put away a whole pizza. I wouldn’t be able to eat anything. Thanks though.” He called out the last as he deftly hopped over the fence, using his staff as leverage, and left without another word.

            Elizabeth watched his disappearing form for only a moment before turning back to the house and picking up her cell. “Peter, you have a lot of explaining to do.”

* * *

 

Peter Burke glared at the single offending wallet still sitting in his office as though it would magically start spouting evidence. He wasn’t sure why he was so fixated on what was, admittedly, a fairly petty crime, but it galled him to be so close but unable to pin the guy. Once again he stemmed through the compartments of James Nuchal’s billfold, but could find nothing that garnered any more suspicion than the overused card. They had turned in all of the other wallets, but kept this one claiming it was evidence. What he had hoped to get from the empty leather fold was beyond his reckoning, but by now it was time to simply give up and return the wallet.

            He had just begun reaching for his office phone when his cell rang. Breathing a slight sigh of relief he pulled out his cell, smiling when the caller ID showed a picture of his beautiful wife. “Hey El,” He greeted lovingly.

            “Peter, you have a lot of explaining to do.” 

            The man froze for a moment as he panicked tried to figure out what he could have done to land him in the doghouse this time. “Honey? Was I supposed to meet you for lunch or something? If I was I’m so sorry, today has been… hectic. The only source we had about a stolen painting turned out to be a complete dud then there was this huge debacle with this mini-Neal we met on the streets, and-“

            “Yeah, well seems your Mini-Neal paid me a visit.”

            “What?”

            “Some kid just showed up at the house. He said he knew you and Neal, something about stolen wallets…”

            “Trust me, El, you don’t want to know. What did he want?”

            “He was dropping off some receipts he found in one of the wallets. Peter, I think someone is stealing from their work using a company card.”

            The man’s eyes shot to the singular remaining wallet. “What? Is there a name on the receipts?”

            “Just a company name, Bleakview Contracting.”

            Peter grinned, flipping to Nuchal’s company card, eyes alighting with glee when Bleakview Contracting sat imprinted where a name would be. “Hon, I’ll be right over.”

            He hung up and made his way to the elevator, Neal jumping up as the man passed his desk. “What’s up?”

            “Seems like the wallet thief paid Elizabeth a visit. He brought her just what we needed to implicate Nuchal.”

            “Seriously? Peter, how did he find your house?”

The man froze, not moving again until the elevator opened for him to get on. “… I don’t know. Ever since Keller took El I’ve been trying to keep my address as well hidden as possible.”

Neal said nothing more for the rest of the elevator ride, speaking only when they left for the lobby. “He did say he was an informant, and he seemed to be a fan. Maybe he’d done some digging and found where you lived.”

Peter shook his head. “If that were true he would have recognized us when he took our wallets. I’m pretty sure he knows us by name only.” Neal nodded in agreement. “But you’re right about him being an informant. Maybe he traded for the information with someone he knew.” Suddenly the man groaned.

“What?”

“Other than you, who is the one criminal we know that knows me address. Who isn’t in jail.”

Neal was already shaking his head. “Mozzie would have just given the evidenced to El himself if the kid came asking. Actually, he probably would have thrown it away and given him a lecture about helping the dastardly suits.”  

A small grin crossed Peter’s face as they finally made it to his car and they pulled out into the street. He couldn’t argue that. However, the expression soon slipped from his face. “Then how did he end up with it?”

Neal shrugged. “I’ll ask Mozz what he knows tonight. Maybe the kid has a greater reach than we thought.”

Peter grumbled in agreement, honestly more concerned about his address floating around in the criminal underworld than in the one kid knowing where he lived.

“Speaking of Mozzie,” Neal continued, “he has perfect recall. The kid got a glance at your liscense so maybe he does to.” The two were silent for the rest of the short car ride. At one point Peter began to wonder why Neal had decided to invite himself along, but he couldn’t really find it odd enough to question. The CI did it often enough after all. Elizabeth was sitting at the table when they arrived, looking through folders distractedly with the a pair of receipts sitting in a plastic bag nearby.

She smiled as the pair entered, Satchmo jumping to his feet to waddle over to them. “Hey hon, Neal.” The woman greeted as she rose to peck her husband on the cheek.

“Hey.” Peter responded. Neal nodded in greeting as he gave into Satchmo’s call for attention and began patting the dog’s head.

“So…” The woman began, “Jack Frost.”

Both men blinked at her in confusion. “Who?” Peter ventured to ask.

“Jack Frost. The kid? White hair, blue eyes, dirty blue hoddie-”

“Mischievous smirk, sticky fingers…” Neal continued as he realized who she was talking about. Elizabeth nodded and smiled.

“Jack Frost, huh? At least I’ll have a name to give Mozzie later.” The CI murmured as Peter reached for the plastic bag. Elizabeth grabbed the receipts out of his grasp and help them away.

“No way. Not until I hear what happened.”

Neal smirked. “The great Peter Burke got his wallet stolen by a fifteen year old pickpocket.”

“But of course, like recognizes like and so Neal caught him right away and immediately proceeded to offer him a deal, promising not to tell his big bad FBI friend as long as the kid handed back the wallets quietly.”

“And since you consider him a ‘mini-Neal’, I’m guessing he didn’t go for it.”

“Nope. Threatened to cry kidnapper. I’m almost proud.”

“Of course you would be.” Peter snorted.

The other man grinned. “Anyway, finally Peter realized something was up and forced me to manhandle the child into a closed off alleyway.”

“What?” The woman exclaimed. “And nobody said anything?”

Both men frowned, any amusement disappearing completely. “No.” Peter said simply. “Nobody looked twice, even when he made it clear we were harassing him.”

There was a long, tense moment of silence. Finally, Neal broke it with a small cough. “He didn’t really struggle much anyway. Went pretty quietly, actually.”

“Yeah, uh, anyway. He gave us our wallets back once we made it to the alley. Then, after fangirling a bit he gave us the money back too.”

“Another Neal fan?”

“Actually, he was a fan of Peter’s too.”

“And, he knew an unhealthy amount about some of our past cases.” Peter grumbled. Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose, but she didn’t comment. “Then, he jumped off of a dumpster, onto a fire escape and proceeded to sit above our heads, emptying the wallets of their cash and dropping them to our feet before climbing up the escape and running away.”

Neal grinned. “He had style.”

Elizabeth snorted as she handed her husband the bag. “Sounds like it.”

“So what happened here?”

“Not much. I was doing work when the doorbell rang. He gave me the receipts, told me to give them to you, and used his stick-thing to jump over the fence and disappear.”

“Stick thing?” Neal questioned.

“Yeah, a wooden staff, kinda looked like a shepherd’s crook.”

“He didn’t have that when we saw him.”

“Weird.” The woman shrugged, and for a few awkward seconds silence reigned as no one had any more input into the conversation. “Well, honey, I’ll just give this to you. Think you’ll be home for dinner tonight.”

“Yeah, we just have an embezzler to arrest and I’ll be home before suppers out of the oven. It’s not like we’ve found any helpful leads with any of our other cases.”

            Neal rolled his eyes and Elizabeth chose to ignore the statement, deciding that it was something more appropriate to talk about that night over a homemade lasagna. “Well, go get ‘em honey!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay... so apparently I was hungry when I wrote this... focused a little too much on the random Pizza


	3. Meeting and Passing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who commented or gave me kudos! I'm really excited! I never thought a crossover of such different fandoms would get this much love! Thank you to everyone, I am really glad you liked it!

Jack slowly made his way around town, sticking to more populated areas in attempt to avoid trouble. A single snowflake meandered down from the sky and he couldn’t help but smile as he spotted another, a light snow beginning to fall. He laughed and turned towards the Timmy Nolan children’s park. It was still too early for any kids to be out, and their certainly wasn’t enough snow to play in it, but watching the kids always put him in a good mood. Not that he was in a bad mood, in fact it had been a fairly nice day.

He hung around the nearly empty park for a while before grinning and reaching to the bulging backpack around his back to pull out a handful of bills and rush to the toy shop across the street. A small grin pulled at his lips as he perused some of the plastic outdoors games. The wiffleball set looked like fun, but in the cold even a thin ball like that could really smart, and he’d set up a game of bowling last time. That had been a while ago though. Finally his mind was made up when he saw badminton sets on clearance on the wall. A little out of season but it would do. Carefully prying a set off of its shelf, he hurried to pay and set up the game at the park before the schools opened.

He liked to do this whenever he had a successful haul. It wasn’t often, he definitely wasn’t some kind of fairy tale that gave toys to kids whenever they were good, but he loved watching their joy when they saw a new game at the park, how any of their troubles or sadness or fear melted away at the thought of fun. It made it easier for him to forget his own troubles, especially when he found some way to get in on the games without any of the kids or parents noticing. Strangely enough, not many parents were okay with their kids playing with the homeless teen who spent nearly all of his time watching little boys and girls in the children’s park. Go figure. Most kids were advised to stay well away from him. Luckily, being invisible wasn’t only good for hiding from angry cops or gang members. He usually found some way to join in the fun unnoticed.

The boy pulled a well-worn book out of his backpack and sat down to wait, glancing at the clock in the park’s center every once in a while to check with the time and smiling when he saw his favorite group of kids heading down from school. He lifted the book higher to hide his grin when one of the little girls, Pippa, noticed the game he’d set up and squealed with excitement. The group ran to gather up the rackets, picking teams and arguing over who got to go first while little Sophie squealed in excitement and happily tossed one of the birdies to herself. Jack dropped the façade of reading and openly watched the group with a content smile. They never noticed and he wouldn’t attract any notice until kids with parents started to show up. Though he doubted anyone would. When it was this cold, people only went to the park if there was enough snow to play in. These kids always came though, through sunshine or snow or wind. Only torrential rain kept them away. They didn’t have much to go home to anyway.

All of their families had fallen on really hard times. Their parents had all been the everyday workers at some company, but the CEO had been discovered to be in the middle of some million dollar fraud and he was put in jail and the company shut down. The families had all had to sell their houses and now lived at some horrible apartment building. The rent was only about $700 a month, but still. It was horrible, dirty and grungy and gross, with an angry dog that stole their beds. Though Jamie and his little sister Sophie seemed to make nice with the mutt, called it Abbey or something.

He smiled softly as he watched the children play, their hands and heads thankfully bundled by hats and gloves bought when times were good. After a while his revery was broken as one of the birdies got stuck at the top of a nearby tree. The children paid little mind, quickly going to play with one of the extras from the pack. Jack however, jumped to his feet. Unnoticed by the children, he made his way up a nearby tree, passing between trees using crossing branches. Finally he was only a few meters away from the erstwhile birdy, so silent that not a one of the children had the slightest hint that he was there. Well, none of them except one. Sophie, who had been deemed too young to actually participate, giggled at him and waved. Jack responded with a smile as he stretched and managed to knock the branch the small projectile sat on.

The bauble fell slowly to the ground, disrupting the play and making the children cheer and groan at the same time. However, by the time the kids looked up to the branch where the birdy lay, Jack had already disappeared into the wind.

The pale teen waited for a while, watching the children, until he finally could not stand the chill seeping through his threadbare hoodie any longer. The young lad slowly jogged from the park. He needed to move if he wanted to keep warm. Maybe the ice rink by the big tree was open, it was cold enough after all. Then he could pickpocket and work on his skating moves at the same time. After all, the tree was tourist central, and these days tourists were the only ones in New York who still carried cash. Maybe he could get a hot coco from a shop nearby too. Yeah, that sounded good.

* * *

 

Neal smiled to himself when he made it home and found Mozzie well into one of his bottles of wine. “I see you’ve made yourself right at home.”

 

“Quite. This Bordeaux is excellent.”

 

“Of course it is.” The man answered as he pulled out a wine glass of his own. “That’s why I bought it.” Drink in hand the man settled onto one of the chairs and began idly doodling in his sketchbook as he waited for his friend to finish his long winded story of a deal he had done in the park that day. Apparently he was especially pleased because whoever was on the the other side of the deal “followed correct protocol”. Which probably meant included blindingly fake newspapers and a code about hummingbirds.

 

After a moment the artist looked down to see a mischievous smirk looking back at him. Less than a second later he realized that he’d drawn a young boy’s face, light hair splayed out haphazardly and the beginning sketch of a hood around his neck.

Mozzie took a moment to sip at his drink, and Neal used that opportunity to take hold of the conversation. “Do you know anything about Jack Frost?”

"Jack Frost? Where did you hear about him?"

 

"He tried to take my wallet."

 

"He's practically unheard of. He doesn't work with anybody, deals in mostly small stuff, and never gets caught."

 

"Until today."

 

"You caught him? Oh great, that probably means the Suit has him rotting away in some jail cell."

 

"Nope. He gave us the slip. But if he's so good, how do you know about him?"

 

"I've heard rumors. Not many, mind you, but enough."

 

"Well, let's hear what you've got."

 

"I’ve heard that he’s young, really young. No one can give an exact number, but he’s been around for about three years. From what I hear of his appearance and his talents, I’m guessing between eighteen and twenty one. He-“

“Guess again, Mozz.”

“What?”

Neal slid over his sketch, th boy’s young face grinning up at them. "He's only about 5"7'. Sixteen would be pushing it."

“B-but then, when he started he would have had to only be-“

“Thirteen at the most.”

Mozzie gulped. “And he was good at thirteen. Three years ago the newspapers were exploding with articles about all the pickpocketing. It took a group of some of the city’s best underworld complaining about their wallets being stolen and accusing each other for hours before they realized that they had all seen the same kid before it happened. Obviously they weren't thrilled that a kid had stolen off of them, so the name didn't exactly spread." 

 

“Sounds like a new Dentist of Detroit.”

 

Mozzie frowned. “Except Frost doesn’t even have a front man.”

 

 “Yeah, and he chose a better alias that ‘Dentist’. Where did you get the name Jack Frost for the kid anyway.”

“He acts as intel for some of the thieves or gangs around where he operates. Apparently that was the name he told them to use. It fits, the kid is practically a myth with how hard it is to spot him. I’ve heard that in the winter, he can completely disappear. Gone like frost melting in the sun."

"And I bet your wallet feels his sting for a while."

Mozzie nodded with a smile. "He's tried some theft too, but no fence will take him seriously. He’s too young, and not many people know about him. They offer half of what they should be because they think he’s some rich brat pawning off his dad’s antiques. I’ve heard he doesn’t take kindly to that. Hey, if you see him again, ask about the Ming Dynasty Vase debacle. I want to hear the details about that one."

  There was a moment of silence as both were lost in their own thoughts. “I don’t like this, Mozz. The kid is too young for this.”

“Hey, I started out younger than him, and look how I turned out.”

“And you were too young for it too!” Mozzie could only bow his head, completely unable to argue. “And wouldn't you have killed to have some kind of mentor or helper or something. And at least you were smart enough to keep yourself hidden. This kid is all over the place.”

“I disagree. He’s been operating for three years and this is the first the suits have heard of him.”

“It’s not the FBI I’m worried about. Not when he’s stealing from criminals. When we found him today, he was favoring a leg. He’s going to get himself seriously hurt, if he hasn’t already. Do you think that you could find him?”

“And tell him what, exactly? Look Neal, I agree with you, we need to get this kid off the streets- if only to show him the basic tools of self-preservation- but remember, I’ve been in his shoes. I can promise you, he isn’t going to trust a couple of good Samaritans. Especially not ones who know about his… talents. That will only land him in trouble. This isn’t like with Robin Hoddie. Jack Frost isn’t looking for help, he’ll be hard to hold down.” 

Neal sighed. “I know.” 

Silence filled the room for a moment before Mozzie finally spoke. “Okay, what up? This seems like more than just you wanting to help out a homeless kid.” 

“I don’t know, Mozz. I just… he’s like...” The conman sighed. “ If you met him playing ‘the lady’ in the park, you would follow him for hours trying to convince him to be your apprentice. If we’d met with him before I was arrested, we wouldn’t have hesitated to pull him in to help us with our cons. I know that with how he handles his enemies, it seems like he’s not the brightest card in the deck, but he’s smart. He’s good at finding the impossible way out, but it’s made him cocky. He’s convinced himself that he can get out of any situations and it’s made him too brash to be safe, but he’s just sly enough to manage it.”  

“So, he’s you.”

“Except I have experience, people looking out for me, and a home to go to at the end of the day.” 

“So, he’s you, with my past?” 

Neal sighed and nodded. “Peter calls him ‘the Mini-Neal’. When I caught him stealing our wallets, his first reaction was to smirk and brag about how impressive he was. He got away by jumping off of a dumpster onto a fire escape. He practically flew. Then, he sat right above our heads, pulled out over ten wallets, kept the cash and dropped the emptied wallets down to us. Said that he found them and though he should turn them into the FBI. Then he disappeared.”  

Mozzie grinned. “I like the sound of him.” 

“He definitely has flair. But listen to this, When Peter and I looked through the wallets, we found one that belonged to a suspect of an embezzlement scam, but any evidence had been taken with the cash. When Jack fou.nd some suspicious looking receipts he brought them to Elizabeth to give to Peter. We have the man in jail waiting to make bail right now because of him.” 

“I’m sure Mrs. Suit just loved him. If you heard some of the stories…” 

“Oh? Do tell.”

* * *

 

Peter sighed as he entered the office, sitting down heavily in his desk until Neal came in with a cup of coffee. “Bad morning?”  

“It wasn’t, until I got the call about Nuchal’s trail date. It’s in a month.”

“What? Don’t embezzlers like him usually just plead guilty?”

“Yes, but the evidence against them was usually found is a more… traditional way.”

“What are you talking about?”

“He’s hoping that he can get off by claiming that we illegally obtained the evidence. How do you think we’re going to explain how we got the receipt? I’m going to go up there and say ‘I was walking with my CI- world renown thief Neal Cafferey-“

“-alleged thief.”

“-around town and just happened to run into Nuchal’s wallet, emptied by a pickpocket. Then, the pickpocket mysteriously knows where I live and gives the receipts to my wife so that we can turn it into the court. Just how do well do you think that is going to go over without a witness?”

 “What about Elizabeth?”

“It wouldn’t work, she’s my wife.”

“Which leaves…Jack Frost. Would the FBI be willing to grant amnesty for him?”

“Yeah, but I’d like to see you convince him of that.”

“I’m sure I could figure something out. He did bring the receipts back, after all. The hard part is going to be finding him again, but I have a few ideas.”

“Can’t you just get Mozzie to set up a meeting?”

“Turns out that we’ve seen more of the kid than he has.”

“Hm. Did he have anything to say about the Easter Bunny guy?”

“Not much. We spent most of the night talking about Jack, but Mozzie doesn’t know anything more about them than me. They don’t really interfere with anyone else’s work, and they don’t recruit so anyone who knows about them pretty much ignores them. He said he’d keep his ears open though.”

“Hmm.” Peter nodded and took a big drink of his coffee. “Well then, don’t you have a tiny thief to find.”

“Tsk. I think that’s more of a lunch thing.” The CI responded with a shrug.

“Well then get to work. Mortgage fraud doesn’t solve itself.”

* * *

 

Hours later Neal found himself leaving a Panini shop, a paper bag bulging in both hands, each one full of a meal. He made his way to a familiar alleyway, throwing one of the bags over the railing of the fire escape before settling onto the closed lid of the dumpster and pulling out one of his own Panini’s as he waited, occasionally glancing at the untouched bag. Jack knew this, because he was watching from a nearby rooftop.

Jack had noticed the man the instant that he’d stepped into his “territory” and had followed him. Quietly, the teen made his way to the building he had escaped to the day before. As silently as a snowflake he slid down the escape, sitting cross legged by the bag before reaching in for his lunch, causing not even the slightest crinkle of the paper sack.

“You know,” He suddenly declared, watching in joy as the man attempted to hide a startled jump at the voice. Neal looked up at him unhurriedly, as though he knew that the boy had arrived when both knew that it wasn’t true. “You’re going to ruin that expensive suit if you keep on sitting on dumpsters.”

The conman grinned. “I’m not too worried. I’ve had plenty of experience with hiding in trash. The smell goes away eventually.”

Jack shrugged, consciously avoiding sniffing his own clothes. Maybe it did if you had dry cleaning. “So, any particular reason you chose to ruin you suit? Or were you just that desperate for a lunch date.”

“Oh, I was just looking for a place with nice ambiance.”

“Oh yes, I’ve heard gross alleyways are all the rage these days.”

“Big with the kids.”

“Sure.” Jack rolled his eyes with a smile and bit into the warm sandwich. “So did you get the receipts okay?”

“We did, that’s actually why I came to talk to you.”

“So it wasn’t for my sparkling company and wit? I’m wounded.”

Neal smirked. “Sorry to disappoint. Maybe some other day. Same time next week?”

The boy gave no reply other than to grin. “So then, what’s the problem?”

“How do you feel about testifying in court?”

“I feel like it would land me in prison.”

  “How about if you were granted amnesty by the FBI?”

“Look, I already gave you guys the evidence, now I have to testify too? Are you going to do any of the work?”

“Well, you see, that’s part of the problem. Because of my own… fairly illustrious past, the courts would never believe that an unrelated pickpocket would happen to find the wallet of a man we were investigating and turn in key evidence. Unfortunately, that would be a pretty flimsy story without…”

“Without the pickpocket himself. Oh great.” He sighed, dropping the empty sack and soda bottle down to Neal, stuffing the chips into his backpack. “So now what?”

“You’ll do it?”

“I guess if I hav- hey, wait a minute. What’s in this for me? I mean, you guys get another little win for your record and I lose out on a day of work? This doesn’t sound like a fair trade. I mean, isn’t there some kind of reward for catching people like this?”

“Sorry kid, not for someone this low-profile.”

“Well that bites.”

“I’m sure I can come up with something.” He glanced at the boy, noting the threadbare hoodie that barely protected him from the fierce winter winds. “How about a coat?”

“A coat?” The boy asked, his nose scrunching with confusion.

“Why not? Peter can’t technically give you any money without a social security number, but a coat could count as an expense.” Neal was stretching the truth a little, they both knew that. The coat would come out of his and Peter’s pockets, not the FBI. He was only offering it so that he could make sure the money was used for something the kid really needed. Jack seemed cognitive enough, but who knew what a teen alone on the streets was exposed to.

Frost meanwhile, understood the connotation and couldn’t help but be offended. He wasn’t going to waste money on drugs when he knew a group of kids who seldom smiled. Besides, he needed his wits about him if he was going to conduct his “business”, and je didn’t want to be dependent on anything. Being dependent on food was bad enough. He felt himself scowl at the hidden barb, however, as a fiercer wind bit into Jack’s shoulders where the fabric was exceedingly thin, he decided to play along.

“A bartering system? I guess that works. Add a pair of shoes and you’ve got a deal.”

Neal looked with a start to realize that the kid was barefoot. In the middle of winter. He gulped. “Sure. It’s a deal.”

Neal smiled and jumped off the dumpster to stand. Jack stood as well, jumping off the escape to land neatly in a crouch on the alley’s floor, a white knuckled grip on his staff his only sign of nerves. “What now?”

“Now, we’re going to head to the office so that we can get you filled in on court protocol and-”

“Woah woah woah. Are you crazy? I’m not going into Suit central, that wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Jack-“

“All I have to do is show up, tell the truth, and leave, right? Why do I have to go over ‘protocol’ for that? No way, not happening.”

“Look, Jack, I have a friend with a rap sheet five times as long as anything you could come up with and he was there once for hours. You’ll be fine.”

“It _isn’t_ happening.” The teen insisted, crossing his arms with a stubborn glare.

“I’ve been a conman for longer than you’ve been alive kid, I know how to get what I want.”

“I’m fifteen. I know how to be stubborn. Besides, didn’t you come looking for my help? I don’t owe you anything.”

The two stood without moving for a long while. Finally Neal nodded. “Fine. The trial is on the 17th of February. Can you meet me at the courthouse at ten?”

“I’ll add it to my calendar.” The teen said as he turned to disappear.

“Wait!” Neal interrupted. “A month is a long time. What if I need to contact you again? I can’t spend every lunch hour on top of a dumpster.”

The teen paused, thinking for a moment before grinning. “If you ever need my expertise just draw a snowflake on the wall with some chalk. I’ll find you.”

Neal nodded, giving the boy his address. Jack hummed to himself with the information, committing it to memory and calling back one more thing before he disappeared. “Hey, just to let you know, my intel isn’t exclusive to the gangs. You have any questions about this part of town, you know where to find me.” And he was gone.    


	4. Provide, Provide

“Jack!” A loud, extremely high voice called, the only waning the pale teen got before he was barreled over by something incredibly colorful. Using his staff to maintain his balance, the teen managed to stay on his feet and whirled to face his opponent. However, he stopped short, gaping, when he came face to face with a small girl about his age, skin tan and hair an array of streaks of different vibrant colors, greens and blues and purples and golds, her clothing matching the display.

“Baby?” The boy exclaimed in surprise. The girl simply pursed her lips.

“Don’t you ‘Baby’ me, mister.”

Jack gaped for a second before his lip twisted in amusement. Ah, he got it now. It was a game, one they often played. It was like… spontaneous improvisation, see who could say the most without anyone nearby knowing what they were talking about. He could do this, he loved games. Truly, playing with him was the best way to get his attention, and as his best and only friend Baby Tooth knew this better than anybody.

“Woah, woah. What’s this all about?” He asked, slipping into the character of a confused boyfriend.

“You know what this is about! I saw you talking with _her_ outside of her house, and now you’re hiding out in alleys for lunch dates? What the heck?”

“Oh.” He should have known that she’d hear about his little visits meeting with the FBI and want to do a follow up. Just to be safe. “Look, Baby, this isn’t what it looks like, I swear it.”

“Oh, I’m sure.”

“Really! I had something that she needed and I was just giving it to her.”

“Not helping your case, buddy.”

“No! I- I mean- I met her friends while I was working and they left something that I knew they really needed. I only knew her address so I was just returning it, I swear. And in the alley, the friend just wanted to check up with me and say thanks.”

“And that thanks had to be said behind a dumpster, did it?”

“N-No!” Jack insisted, working hard to keep a grin off of his face and break character. He pretended to glance around, eyeing the group interested in the teen drama. “Come on Baby, can’t we do this somewhere different?” Her lips began to quirk, an insistence to go somewhere private was considered giving up, but Jack wasn’t quite ready for that yet. “I mean, you’re making a scene over nothing. We don’t want your mom hearing about us an-“

“Mom won’t mind finding out that we’re over!”

“Baby, now don’t be like that! I swear it was nothing. We barely spoke for five minutes; I’ll probably never see her again. Uh, besides, she wasn’t nearly as beautiful as you.”

Baby snorted, amusement in her eyes, though absent from her tone. “Sure.”

“Not nearly as colorful.” He added with a grin, dropping his con as a bit of his real personality slipped through. The watching crowd had quickly lost interest in their squabble. “Besides, you mom would be mad if she heard about me even if you broke it off.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “You’re probably right.” Baby tooth nodded her head at the café across the street. “But you owe me a coffee while you explain.”

Nodding, the boy walked alongside her to the coffee shop. “How is that fair? You’re the one whose mother hands out money.”

“And I believe you were just treated to a free meal by some tall handsome stranger.”

“Meh, he wasn’t my type. A little too old and a little too male for my tastes. Besides, with the prices at these places, a meal might have been cheaper.”

The girl only laughed and placed her- ridiculously caffeinated- order. Jack smiled as he did the same. “So, why were you really consorting with the feds?” She asked, pulling out her laptop as they sat in a table with drinks in hand.

“Just like I said. I met Special Agent Peter Burke and famed criminal Neal Cafferey at work, tried to lift something from them and it didn’t work. But I found evidence in one of the wallets and since I knew Burke’s address, I figured I’d turn it in.”

“The alley?”

“Apparently handing in key evidence wasn’t enough. I also have to testify in court.”

“And you’re sure that’s _all_ that happened?”

“Yeah. What’s up BT?”

“They found out about Bunny almost the same day you were seen talking to them.”

“What? I thought your Guardian thing was all super secret or whatever.”

“Yes, so secret that a pickpocketing streetrat knows about us.”

“What can I say? I’m like Aladdin only better. I’m the exception.”

“Right. Well, we were super secret, but Bunny and Santa just switched out a painting and they were able to find his mark.”

“Ooh. That’s rough. So everyone’s first thought was me, huh? Bet it was Bunny’s idea.” The teen grouched, the tiniest note of bitterness sinking into his words.

However, his friend was shaking her head emphatically. “Mom had me look through all of the FBI’s official informants, so I was eavesdropping on Cafferey when I heard your name mentioned. Your name wasn’t even mentioned.”

Jack wasn’t sure that made him feel much better, but he said nothing, only taking a long sip of his hot chocolate as he attempted to shrug off how far he was from their minds. Baby Tooth looked down into her drink, knowing well the course of his thoughts. She shifted uncomfortably and coughed. “Right. I’ve pretty much determined Cafferey recognized it. With his history, I’d be surprised if he hadn’t at least heard rumors.” She spun the screen of her tablet-computer around to show Cafferey’s official report to Jack, taken straight from FBI headquarters. Baby Tooth, and Mama Tooth- also known as ‘The Tooth Fairy’- were hackers, traders and gainers of memory and information. Really, The Tooth Fairy was the head honcho, with BT and several other girls working under her as informants and errand girls.

Jack whistled with a smile, any hint of bad mood gone with the shifting of a winter wind. “That’s quite a list. Whoa, some of these are legendary.”

“Someone like that either knows about us or knows someone who does.”

“So? They can’t have much, maybe an inkling of a rumor, nothing more. What’s the problem? I know you, Baby Tooth, there’s something else.”

“The Big Four had a meeting yesterday.”

“All four of them? I thought you said they almost never all got together.”

“They do if it’s something big. And trust me, it was big. Mom wanted me and the girls there so that she could give instructions while we checked to see what the FBI knew, so we got to overhear.”

“And?”

“And at first it was just a lot of arguing, but when one of my sisters showed Mom their arrest record… let’s say it doesn’t look good for our chances of keeping secret. They’re good.”

Jack scoffed. He could have told her that. “So what are you guys planning on doing?”

“I don’t know for sure, but… they kept on going back to how even if the FBI knows about all of us, there isn’t really anything connecting us to the Boogeyman.”

“So you’d all end up in jail while the real criminal, Mr. Tall-dark-and-terrifying would get off scott free without anyone to stop him.”

“Exactly. We’ve kept him down for a while, but with us out of the picture…”

“He’ll just build his empire again.”

“He’s already trying to buy artwork. After he’s created a name for himself he’ll move onto selling his ‘Nightmare’ drug. Then, it’s only a matter of time before… before children start going missing again.”

Jack gulped, breathing deeply. There was no lost love between him and the Guardians- they certainly weren’t happy about him knowing who they were- but he couldn’t stand by while someone like Pitch kidnapped kids. “So, what can I do?”

“Well, they were talking about maybe getting someone to kind of act like a mole. They could tell the FBI about us, but only what we wanted. And then they could tell them everything about Pitch. The only problem was, they couldn’t think of anyone who could be the mole. It would be too dangerous for any one who’s actually part of it, especially since it would seem like someone suddenly appearing just to give them the perfect leads to solving the case. It would be too suspicious and if Pitch found out… it wouldn’t be good. They don’t trust anyone on the outside enough to tell them about us either.”

“So they thought of me? Really?”

“Technically… no. Like I said, your name didn’t exactly come up.”

“Ah. _You_ thought of me.”

“Yeah.”

“Do they even know that you came to me?”

“Not exactly.”

“So how do you think they’ll react when they hear that I spilled the beans to the FBI? I mean, Bunny and Santa’s Yetis already hate me. Tooth Fairy hasn’t even ever met me, and I’m not telling them that you told me. You’re the only friend I have and if they get mad…”

“You just have to pretend that you heard it through the grapevine or something. Like you always do.”

The boy groaned, closing his eyes and slouching in his seat. After a moment he opened his eyes. “Fine. Okay, so here’s what’s going to happen. You need to find some way to hint that the Guardians have set up base in my side of town. When none of their usual informants can come up with anything more, eventually they’ll think of me.”

“You’ll do it?”

“Yeah. I have something that I want from the FBI anyway, something you couldn’t get without Tooth’s alarm bells going crazy.”

She squealed and jumped up to hug him. “Thanks Jack!”

“Yeah, yeah. But they’re still going to have to do this my way. No special treatment for them. If they aren’t good enough to get my information, you guys don’t have anything to worry about anyway. Deal?”

“Deal.”

He smiled. “Now, what is it I can say and what should be kept secret.”

“This might take a while.”

Jack held up his empty cup. “Then refills are on you.”

* * *

 

      Peter looked up as Neal came into his office toting a couple cups of coffee. The agent gestured to the case file sitting on his desk, a picture of _The Railway_ clipped to the front. “Have you heard anything?”

            “Not since last time you asked. None of my informants have found anything.”

            “FBI hasn’t either. I thought we were making progress when Mozzie heard approximately where they were working from, but it’s been two weeks and… nothing.”

            “Well, downtown isn’t really a whole lot to go on anyway. I have all of the men looking into it that I can, but… like I said, they’re good at keeping hidden.”

            He sighed angrily. “Of course they are. I guess… just keep your ears open.”

* * *

 

“Any news?” Neal asked as he walked into his apartment, completely unsurprised to see Mozzie sitting at his table, an odd assortment of knick knacks in front of him that Neal was frankly afraid to ask about.

            “No, nothing. Look Neal, I think you need to face facts that we aren’t going to hear anything about them soon. I’ve asked everybody I can think of and there’s nothing. Why do you want to catch these guys so badly anyway? I mean, to commit the kind of crimes these guys are told to have done for decades and never even show a blip on the Suits radar, let alone anyone else’s is nothing short of monumental. If they really do exist, these guys are some of the best thieves of the era. And they give the money to children’s organizations, orphanages and stuff. They’re practically superheroes.”

            “I know Mozzie, but that’s the thing. I got too excited with the painting. The instant Peter saw the egg, I put them on his list. You know Peter as well as I do, he will find them. As long as I’m in on the investigation, I have a chance to warn them.”

            “Really?” The bald man asked, torn between skepticism and his faith in his friend.

            “Yes. And like I said, we talked to Chuck. Peter thought he was spouting nonsense with the ‘Boogeyman’ stuff, but…”

            “All lies start with a seed of truth.”

            “Exactly. The problem is, I’m not sure how big the seed is.”

            Mozzie was silent for a moment, thinking. “Fine. I’ll ask around again, but I really think we’ve tried everyone.”

            Neal sighed but said nothing, sitting down with a glass of wine and staring out his balcony doors. The CI watched silently as snow floated down past the jet black sky, tiny ice particles forming on the window’s glass. Suddenly the man straightened. “Actually, there is one person we haven’t tried yet.”

            Mozzie followed his view confusedly, until a strangled sound left his throat as he caught on to the man’s idea. “You can’t really think that a kid like that can know more about them than us.”

            “It is in his part of town. Jack says he knows everything that happens down there.”

            “Yeah, and not to discredit the youth, but this?”

            “It can’t hurt to ask. Besides, I never did learn his shoe size.”

            “Shoe size? Why do you need- never mind. Do you even know how to find him.”

            “He gave me a… means of communicating with him. You hear anything more about the kid.”

            Suddenly he grinned, eyes lighting up as though given permission to rant about every conspiracy theory he’d ever conceived. “Actually, I just heard from Valentine how to get information for him.”

            “Um, I heard asking is good.”

            “No, you see, with Jack there’s methods.” The man insisted, eagerly leaning against the table. “He has a lot of information, but he won’t give it up unless you ask right, jump through his hoops. Of course, according to Valentine that might just be because he likes making it harder on the gangs. As much as he likes the money, apparently he doesn’t really like giving them information.”

            “So, he probably won’t make me jump through the hoops?”

            “Maybe not, but it always helps to be prepared. I can’t really see him giving anyone special treatment.”

            “You’re right.” Neal said after a moment of pondering what he knew about the boy, though he couldn’t help a grin from spreading as Mozzie’s interest grew contagious. “So, what do I need to do?”

            “You have to play a game with him.”

            “A game.”

            “That’s right. He’ll only stay as long as he’s entertained. The instant he gets bored he leaves. He doesn’t give an explanation or anything. He just turns around and disappears. The best way to keep him still is to play a game with him.”

            “So we just have to play chess while we talk?”

            “That could work. Though, I haven’t heard that he’s really interested in chess. Most of the time, he plays games using the information. Like, he’ll write all of his information on separate slips of paper and plays small games for each one. For every round they win they get the information. For every round he wins, he gets payment. Or, he’ll give a certain number of words that people have to use to ask questions or give answers. If anyone uses too many or too little, they’re out. If he loses, then it goes on to a normal interrogation. If he wins, he leaves when his last opponent loses with the money. There are dozens of games like that, but those are his favorites.”

            “Who would actually play along with stuff like that?”

            “Someone worried that the information would go somewhere else if they didn’t.”

            “Sounds to me like he’s more bored than anything.”

            “Bared and desperate for attention. That’s how Valentines describes him, and he gets almost all of his news from Jack. After all, he has some of the lowest asking prices and if you play the games well enough, it can be practically free.”

            “Well, I can see how that would be appealing.”

            “Yes, but the problem is, he has _practice_ playing all of his games. By now it’s hard to beat him. What we have to do, is think us a game that he doesn’t already play, but will keep his interests.”

            “Okay, that shouldn’t be too hard. We just have to make up a new word game.”

            For a long period there was nothing but silence. One hour and seven discarded ideas later, no progress had yet to be made.

            “For the last time Mozzie, skip codes hidden in Haiku’s would be too complicated.”

**“No** , if you try **it**

If you **wouldn’t** see but what

**be** syllable four.”      

            “Yes it would. It’s supposed to be fun and simple, not a code.” He sighed. “We might be here a while.”

            “Hours to go before I sleep, hours to go before I sleep.” The short man quoted.

            “That’s _Robert_ Frost.”

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay Baby Tooth, and the Guardians finally start to show!!!   
> I don't intend to really put any romantic pairing in for Jack, but if I did it would probably be with her. I picture them as really good friends but if you wanna squint...


	5. The Code- Heroics

Jack grunted as another blow landed on his stomach, the force throwing him the ground where he lay, panting. A heavy boot fell upon his back, keeping him pinned while a man knelt over him. The teen growled to himself, but didn’t dare make an audible complaint, neither a sound of pain nor of irritation. His life was in a fairly precarious position at the moment.

            In his opinion it was pure cowardice to sneak up on him in the park, when he was lax and surrounded with children. They had held a gun to his back and he’d been forced to either comply or potentially scar a dozen little boys and girls for life. It wasn’t until they forced him into a van that he was able to recognize them as the members of a local gang. He’d acted as informant for them and against them several times in the past. They were some of his best customers. Of course, that was before. See how much they got out of him after this.

            The man gripped Jack’s hair and pulled his head back, making him look into angry dark eyes. Jack seethed to himself, forcing a cocky grin onto his face. It wasn’t even one of the gang’s leaders, just a lackey. The man growled as he forced the heel of his boot into Jack’s spine. “You’ve caused us a lot of trouble boy, ratting us out like that. We lost a lot of money because of you.”

            “Not my fault you guys weren’t smart enough to keep me quiet.”

            Jack saw stars as his head was slammed into the van floor. The man ground his head into the rough ground. By the time he was dragged up again, his face was marked with red floor burns.

            “You see kid, we’re getting real tired of these little games of yours.”

            “Yeah, I would be too if I lost all the time.” Jack was pulled up by his hair and thrown into the car’s wall, crashing into a toolbox and cutting through his hoodie and arm on one of the sharp sides.

            “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to tell us everything you know about… well, anything. If it’s enough, we’ll let you leave. If not… well I can think of a few good ways for me to vent out my frustration.”

            “Or, I could tell you nothing and you could just let me go. Hey, I like that plan. Let’s do that.”

            The man kicked Jack in the gut. “Not gonna happen punk.” He once more gripped the teen’s hair again and pulled it up. “And nobody is coming for you, so we can do this all day.” One knee came up to pin the boy to the ground as the man gripped Jack’s ankle, twerking it slightly to the side. “I heard you had a run in recently that broke your poor little leg. Put you out of commission for a while, huh? Poor thing.” He jerked it roughly, finally drawing a grunt of pain from Jack. “You probably used up all of your reserves already too. How would you ever survive if you broke it again?” Dropping one hand down he pet the teen’s other ankle. “Or even both legs. You would be in a spot of trouble then, wouldn’t you?”

            Jack stilled completely, barely daring to breathe. With winter coming and his fallback money gone, he wouldn’t live through the season without use of both of his legs.

            “Oh, that caught your attention then, huh?”

            Jack gulped, keeping a terrified expression on his face as he reached up to unclip a small canister of pepper spray. He usually liked to use a good deal more finesse, or perhaps a snowball to the face, but desperate times…

            “Now, kid, I’m going to ask you nicely one more time. Tell me everything you know.”

            “That didn’t really sound like a question.”

            “Well, that was the wrong answer.” The man’s hands flew to the boy’s leg, but Jack was already acting. He shot out, kicking out his legs and surging his body up off the floor, shooting the burning mace into the man’s face before scrambling away. The car had screeched to a stop at the sound of the man’s scream, and Jack used the chance to wrench open the car door and dart away, disappearing into the crowd. His eyes shot in all directions, pleadingly searching for a familiar place to hide. He sighed in relief when he spotted a nearby Library and slipped in amid the silent book-lined shelves.

            “Hey Sandy.” He called to the local librarian and famed children’s book author- and secret Guardian- before slipping into the rarely used section of the building and climbing to lay out on top of one of the bookcases, his thin frame completely hidden. He waited for what felt like hours until he was sure that he was safe, and slipped out of the building with only a backhanded wave to Sandy as he left. Really, Sandy- or The Sandman- was Jack’s closest thing to a friend he had after Baby Tooth. The man couldn’t talk, but he was always willing to spare a hiding space when he got in trouble or let him stay in the Library during cold weather or bad storms.

            He sighed as he made his way back into town, trying to hide his limp until he could retrieve the staff he had dropped at the park. It was late afternoon by the time he finally got it, and the place was almost full as kids played in the inch tall layer of snow that had formed overnight. Jack shivered as he thought about it. He hoped Neal got back to him about those shoes soon. Speaking of, the boy realized that he had yet to check the wall for his symbol that day. After all, it had been weeks since BT started the rumors. They had to start thinking about him soon. The teen yawned as he walked. It had been a big day, once he made sure Neal hadn’t shown up yet, he would have to take a nap or something.

            However, when he arrived at the familiar alleyway any exhaustion left him. For there, on the wall in white chalk showed the pale shape of one of the most intricate snowflakes Jack had ever seen, a wrapped box sitting underneath it. The boy grinned. That was Neal alright.

            He limped to the box excitedly, leaning heavily on his staff to help the leg that the man had twisted. Throwing open the lid he could only gape at what lay underneath. A waist-length blue-grey woolen coat sat in the box, only a size or two too big for him. He gently swung the backpack from his shoulder and dropped it onto the ground, pulling the coat on over his sweater instead. He sighed in relief as it cut out the cold, snuggling into the collar.

            He was surprised to find that he loved it. He had been expecting something more similar to a ski jacket like thing, but in retrospect he shouldn’t have expected anything less from a man who wore thousand dollar suits. Walking down the hallway he smiled to discover the jacket flowing out dramatically behind him, and could only imagine what it would be like when he jumped from a low roof or fire escape. Grinning like a maniac, he even spun once, just to see what it would look like. It was pretty sweet, billowing out around his thin form. Sticking his hands in his pocket he found a note.

_Hope you like it._

_Sorry, there aren’t any shoes, I never did get your size._

_You know where to meet._

_–Neal_   

            Still smiling, the teen knelt to grab the fallen backpack. He winced as the movement tugged at his twisted ankle. Groaning, he pulled a small mirror out of his bag. He looked horrible. The new coat hid most of his bruises, but his face was red and puffy with floor burns, and one eye was starting to turn black. And that was just his face. If he had to take off his coat or hoodie, they would see a lot worse. He sighed and maneuvered his hair so that the longest parts fell in front of his face. The coat didn’t have a hood, so he had to pull his hoodie’s out over the collar, hiding his face in its shadow. He looked at the mirror once more. Ugh. He still looked like crap. He forced the tension out of his body, smiling like everything was right with the world. Better. It was amazing what an expression could do.

            Still, as he made his way to the address Neal gave him, he couldn’t help a grumpy scowl from crossing his face. Of all the days for them to contact him, it had to be today.  

* * *

 

“Do you really think he’ll show?” Peter asked, glancing at the door to Neal’s apartment. Diana and Jones looked up as well as they finished setting up the recording device.

“The kid is bored, he’s ready for something new. He’ll be here.”

“And you think that he’ll know something?” Diana asked, disbelief coloring her tone.

“I think it possible. It can’t hurt to ask anyway.”

Jones chuckled. “I’m just excited to meet the kid that stole your guy’s wallets.”

“He got caught.”

“You caught him, Peter didn’t.”

Said agent rolled his eyes at the snickers that filled the room. “Yes, haha, Peter would have gotten his wallet stolen, hilarious.”

When the small laughter died down, there was a long period of silence.

“So…” Jones began. “When did you say he was going to be here?”

“Whenever he sees the snowflake.”

“So, it might not even be today?”

“He’ll be here.”

“Hey Neal,” Diana interrupted. “Has that really tall gargoyle always been there?”

All eyes shot to the man’s terrace, where a figure stood silhouetted against the setting sun. The figure was thin, a hood covering his face and a staff in hand, coat billowing out in the wind behind him. Neal grinned. “Told you that he’d be here.”

He opened the door and beckoned the boy to come in, but Jack didn’t move. Neal frowned and made his way forward. “What’s up?”

“I don’t remember inviting your FBI friends.”

“Calm down, it’s okay. They aren’t planning to arrest you. They’re just on the case too, they want to hear your information.”

The teen shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t like being outnumbered.”

Neal froze, his mouth going slightly dry as he read into the implications, his eyes lingering on the staff as he remembered the boy’s limp the day that they met. “Right. No problem, there is a surveillance van, across the street. They can wait there. You don’t mind if they listen though, do you?”

Jack flinched at the word van, but ultimately nodded. He could see the recorder anyway. “Fine. I don’t care if Peter stays too, I guess.”

Neal smiled and nodded. “Alright, alright. Just give me a minute to kick them out alright?”

Jack nodded, and Neal made his way back inside. He pointed at the two agents. “You and you need to leave, Jack’s orders.”

“What?” Jones asked surprised and Diana nearly snarled.

“I’m not taking commands from some kid.”

Peter sighed. “Neal-“

“He doesn’t like being outnumbered and it’s the only way he’ll agree to talk with us.” There was a moment of silence until Neal spoke again. “He’s fine with you guys listening in the van, he just doesn’t want you here.”

The agents nodded and stood to leave, Diana placing a transmitter next to the recording device. Soon enough, only Peter and Neal remained. Jack waited on the railing until he saw the two enter the van before coming forward, using his staff as leverage to vault across the terrace in attempt to put as little pressure on his leg as possible. He tried to keep from wincing as he walked, but the keen eyes of Peter and Neal missed nothing. The two shared a glance as Jack settled into the chair closest to the clear doors, sprawling out with a cocky grin but never lowering his hood.

“Thanks for the coat by the way, not what I was expecting, but I like it.”

“I thought you might. Used two cans of waterproof spray on it too.”

“Sweet.” The boy settled into the seat, hiding a wince as he wounded arm brushed the wooden chair. Neal nodded, sitting in the chair opposite him while Peter watched both carefully. The elder thief reached for the coffee pot at the center of the table, smiling softly as he poured himself a cup. “June’s Italian roast. Peter,” He said, gesturing for the mug. “I know you want some.” The man nodded, handing over his cup. “Jack? You want a cup?”

The boy shook his head. “I don’t like coffee. It’s bitter.”

“Well,” Neal said, “I heard June’s maid bragging the other day about her hot coco recipe. How does a cup of that sound?”

Jack smiled. “That’ll work.”

“Peter, why don’t you be a dear and go find her, maybe help her out-“

“Neal-”

“Peter.”

Jack’s lips twitched up into a smile as the agent groaned but listened to the CI, however, the expression left when Neal turned on him with a serious gaze. “You know Jack, you and I have a lot in common.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes. Both well versed in the art of thieves and pick pockets, both devilishly handsome.” Jack’s lips twitched as Neal continued. “I know how you think, because I think the same way.”

“Is that so?”

“We were running a sting operation at a warehouse downtown yesterday and I got a scratch on my shoulder. It’s at a bad spot for me to treat it myself, but I haven’t told anyone else about it.”

Jack shifted in his seat. “What does this have to do with me?” He whispered.  

“Take off your hood.” The boy didn’t move. “I don’t like showing people my injuries. It shows them I’m weak, breakable like everyone else. But I’ll make you a deal. I’ll show you my injury if you show me yours. After all, if we both look weak… then really neither of us does.”

“…You might want to get a first aid kit out or something.”  

Neal nodded and left for the bathroom to grab the kit. Jack took a deep breath and stood, letting the coat fall to the floor. He winced as he pulled his hoodie up over his head, dried blood caught in the sleeve. He hesitated to remove his thin t-shirt, but knew that he had enough serious bruises over his stomach and chest and eventually tugged it off. His legs were okay other than the one ankle, so he made no move to take off his pants, only waiting for Neal to return. The CI froze when he saw the teen’s battered form. Jack refused to meet his eyes, keeping his gaze locked onto the table.

“My, uh, my arm is probably the worst. Then the… the burns on my face. My ribs are fine, you can’t do much for the bruises, but… my ankle is twisted, maybe sprained. It could stand to be wrapped.”

Neal swallowed thickly. “Alright. I’ll start with your arm then. Hold it out.” Jack obeyed silently, looking to the ground as Neal cared to the long scratch. No words were said as Neal patched Jack up. Finally, when the conman finished putting the bandage in place, he spoke. “I hope whoever did this lost your business for a while,” He attempted, fishing for information and hoping he was right.

Jack hummed and nodded. “They’ll be feeling Frostbite for the next few months.”

Neal smiled softly as he moved to spread aloe on the light burns across Jack’s face. “Frostbite?”

Jack chuckled. “Yeah, kinda lame I know, but that’s what happens when you make an enemy of me. A hint to the cops here, free info to their enemies there… they’ll be missing a couple of key limbs when I’m done.”

“Figuratively I hope.”

“Most of the time.”

Neal leaned back once the aloe was on. “That doesn’t look much worse than a bad sunburn, do you want me to bandage it up or…”

“Nah, this is fine.”

“Are you sure your ribs are okay? I mean, those are some pretty nasty bruises.”

“I’m sure.”

“I’ll get you some ice though, that’ll-“

“No thanks, they’ll be cold enough once I leave.”

Neal fought to keep from swallowing again, hearing loud and clear the hidden _I want to stay warm while I can._ However, before he had long to think, Jack spoke up. “Hey, what about your injury? I thought this was supposed to be some sort of quid pro quo thing.”

The CI had to consciously keep from smirking. The kid was good at diversion; anyone else would be completely distracted by the accusation. Neal wasn’t just anybody, but he figured he could play along for a bit. “Fine.” He tugged off his suit jacket and unbuttoned his shirt enough to bare his shoulders to the frosty boy.

“What? That’s it!”

Neal smirked at the teen. The scratch in question was barely an inch long, thin, and already scabbed over. He knew he was taking a risk, relying completely on his ability to know people, figure out how they worked. If he was right, Jack would be almost delighted at finding someone who could trick him. If not, he could have lost the teen’s trust. However, he hadn’t been lying when he said he felt that they were similar, that they thought the same way. It was always nice to face competition. “I never said it was a big scratch.”

The pale teen gaped at him for a moment before slouching into a chair with a pout. “No fair.” He mumbled, though a slight smirk twitched at the corner of his lips. Neal noticed and knew that he’d guessed right. He flashed the teen a grin back as he tugged his shirt back into place.

“First rule of being a conman, ‘Always be the smartest guy in the room.”

“Who says I’m not? After all, I barely had to say anything and you went running for the first aid kit.”

“Yes, I’m sure that was all part of your master plan. Leg up, on this chair.”

“You’ll never know if it was,” Jack responded mischievously as he obeyed, watching as Neal carefully began wrapping the injury. He dropped his eyes to the floor and reached for his shirt from where it lay on the floor. “Thank you.” He mumbled, nearly too low for Neal to catch, but he heard it all the same.

“You’re welcome.” He responded softly as Jack began to tug on his shirt. However, before the boy could finish the door burst open, revealing a grumpy Peter carrying an overloaded tray. The agent’s irritated expression fell away to shock when he saw the scene, Jack’s bruises contrasting proudly against his pale skin and the white bandage tied around his arm. The boy’s red raw face was slick with aloe and Neal still sat wrapping up his bare ankle. Not to mention the rib outline he could just barely spot, the child’s skinny arms and thin frame.

“What happened to you?” He asked, his voice gruff, worry for the teen spiking.

Jack just shrugged and pulled his shirt down to cover his chest and stomach. “Just had a run in with a couple of unsatisfied customers. Don’t worry, they won’t be shopping with me anymore. Hey, my hot coco anywhere on there?”

Peter nodded slowly and made his way over to the table, setting the tray down and putting the mug in front of Jack as the teen pulled his hoody on over his shirt. The coat remained off but close by, draped against the chair’s back. The teen took a deep sip of the coco, sighing in relief and settling back against his seat, feet propped against the table as he reached for a cookie off of the towering plate. “So then, shall we get down to business?” He asked loftily, dipping his desert into the drink.

“Yes, lets.” Peter said, relief on his face.

Neal smirked. Peter had a hard enough time figuring him out, with Jack he was absolutely floundering. “So Jack, let’s play a game.”

“A game?” Peter sputtered. “Neal, we didn’t call him here to pl-”

“Oooh, someone’s done their research, huh?” Jack interrupted, sounding inordinately pleased. “Well then, I’m sure you know of my favorites, pick your poison.”

“Actually, what do you think about playing something new?”

Jack perked up with interest. “A new game? What is it?”

Neal grinned. He had probably caught the boy’s attention better than anyone of his other customers had in months. “I call it ‘Con’-“

“Of course you would.” The still thoroughly confused Peter mumbled.

“- you’ll have to try and arrange all of your information into six statements. We play three rounds. Every round you tell us two true pieces of information, and one false one. Then, I guess which one was false. If I guess right, then I win that round. If not, I lose the round and you don’t tell me which of the other two was the con and which was the truth.”

Jack began slowly nodding. “So you end up with all of the information, but you might not be able to trust any of it.” Finally he grinned. “I like it, but what happens if I win?”

“You get your payment.”

“You don’t know what I was going to ask you for.”

“I’m sure we could work something out.”

“Hmm… How about this. If I win one round, you guys will come to me first next time you need info about my territory, so that I have another chance to win. If I win two out of three, I get my payment. If I win all three rounds I get my payment, you come to me first, and I get to take whatever’s left on this tray with me when I leave.” He gestured to the platter laden with desserts, cheeses, fruits, and crackers. “Seriously, did she think there was an army up here?”

“Fine, but if we win all three you have to come to the office to learn court protocol and practice your piece before the judge.”

“Promise not to arrest me?”

“Promise.”

“I’m not worried about _you_ arresting me.” He turned from Neal to fix a hard gaze on Peter.

The man, who had until that point been simply staring at the two in befuddlement, nodded. “You will not be arrested for anything we caught you doing before today. Unless you try something in the office, then all bets are off.”

Jack chuckled. “Darn. Oh well, guess that doesn’t sound too bad. De-”

“Wait.” Peter interrupted. “One more condition. If we win two out of the three, we get to ask you five questions that you have to answer honestly, no distraction, misleading, or lying.”

“You can ask three questions and it can’t be about the round you lost.”

“Four. Two from Neal, two from me.”

The pale teen thought for a moment and nodded. He stretched out, muscles popping. “So, what was it that you wanted information on?”

Neal and Peter shared a look before the agent spoke. “The ‘Guardians’.”

The teen frowned. “Well, I’m a little disappointed.”

“You don’t know anything.”

“It’s not that. The way they freaked out when I found them, I thought they were the biggest secret in crime since the identity of Jack the Ripper. If it’s gotten all the way up the grapevine to the FBI… well they just got a whole less fun.”

“You know about them?” Peter asked, shock evidenced in his tone.

“I told you, I know everything. But- I do have one final condition. If this is about the Guardians, I want to be kept out of any official documents the FBI has, anything at all that goes into a computer. Think of a code word for me or something.”

“Why?”

“Well, the Guardians, it’s not like they’re bad people or anything. It’s just… I’m not exactly their favorite person ever. I’m somewhere between tolerate and hate. Varies for each one of course. It’s just… I don’t think they’d hurt me under any normal circumstances, but… when it comes to squealing on them to the FBI, that could get me into some hot water. I’d like to remain anonymous if possible.” Both nodded and he smiled broadly. “If that’s all taken care of.” He chuckled. “This is going to be a lot of fun,  

Neal grinned. “Well then, let the game begin.”


	6. Gathering Leaves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who wants a whole chapter of straight exposition?

Neal grinned. “Well then, let the game begin.”

“Hang on, hang on. Give me a minute to think of my lie. It has to be good.”

“Tsk. Tsk, Jack. I thought you would be better than this. If it takes you this long to come up with a good con…”

“I’m out of practice. Alright, alright. I’m ready. Okay, first bit of information. There are four ‘Guardians’. Well, technically five but it gets sketchy. Santa Clause, he’s a master at forging artifacts, sculptures, carvings, any kind of handcrafting. But the thing he’s best at is thieving. He can get in and out of anywhere, no matter how secure, with nothing to show that he was there other than the missing objects. Like the cookies gone on Christmas morning.

“Then there’s the Tooth fairy. She’s the only girl and is a master hacker. She can get into any databank and get any kind of information she wants, files, data, memories, all sitting in the palm of her hand. Or, in her computer. One of her specialties is hacking the bank accounts of corrupt businesses or congressmen or thieves and giving the money to people who really need it.

“Next is the Sandman, he’s kind of the enabler, or the cleanup. He’s a chemist who made his own… concoctions. Two different types of powdered drugs, one a shiny gold and one bright yellow. The yellow is kind of like knock-out powder, but it sinks into the skin, so any type of contact works. The gold is a hallucinogen that gives you the best hallucinations possible. Imagine the best dream you’d ever had, that’s what you would see, and just as real as if it were really happening but still bizzare in the way only a dream can be. Put them together and you get the best night’s sleep you could ever have. And if a security guard thinks that he saw a guy in a Santa suit break into a high security museum, well a pinch of dust will have him convinced that the whole thing was only a dream, especially if whatever’s stolen was replaced with a fake.

“Last but not least there’s the Easter Bunny, master art forger but you already know about him.”

“How did you-“

“No questioning my methods. Anyway, about the sketchy fifth member. There is some mysterious benefactor that got them all together. He goes by the codename ‘Man in the Moon’ and no one, not even the Guardians, know who he really is. He contacts them using this one cell phone that not even Tooth has been able to trace. He’s a mystery. If the Guardians are a myth, he’s a whisper in the wind.”

“I’ve never heard about him.” Neal answered.

“Maybe I have better intel than anyone you’ve heard of. Or maybe this was the lie. Who knows. Second piece of information.” He dunked another treat into his coco, working to keep from revealing any tells. This was the lie, he had to tell if perfectly, no hesitation. “They don’t actually all live in New York, they all have different houses all over the country. Every once in a while, they’ll pick a new major city and set up a mini-base there for a while. When they’re done, they split up again until something happens and they start up again. They have different shops and businesses that they have to keep their identities secret. Santa’s headquarters are somewhere in Alaska, really far north.” Lie, his office was less than an hour away.

“The North pole.” Neal murmured and Jack grinned.

“They really do love their themes. Unfortunately, he doesn’t run a toy company, he has a bakery and a factory that makes specialty cookies that are sold all over the country.” Lie. He did have a toy company, the best in New York, FAO Schwarz.

“Anyway, the Easter Bunny lives in the Virginia- Marylandish area where he can see the cherry blossoms during spring. He owns a floral shop, best flowers of spring.” Truthfully he owned a specialty chocolates shop a couple of blocks way. “Sandman lives somewhere in California I think, a beach house near the ocean. He lectures at a bunch of different colleges for chemistry.” Sandy wrote children’s books and worked at a local library, shaping children’s dreams and imaginations. “The Tooth Fairy lives in Arizona, I think she has a humming bird observatory up there. Obviously, she owns a dentist office.” Surprising false as well. Really she was a professional portrait and events photographer. Baby Tooth said her favorite thing was to see the children’s beautiful smiles.

“What does the Tooth Fairy have to do with humming birds?” Peter asked with a frown.

Jack shrugged easily, his heart beating rapidly. Baby Tooth reminded him a hummingbird, and she and all her sisters absolutely loved them. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the myths to connect the two. “She likes colorful things. Besides, hummingbirds are kinda fairy-like. Besides, not all of their interests have to connect with thief nicknames.”

Peter and Neal shared a look before Neal nodded at him. “Point. Third thing.”

“They don’t work alone. At least, most of them don’t. Santa has big men he calls Yeti’s who keep his ‘workshop’ secret and who help him carve the larger things. I think they also help in his side business, like with production and assembly line stuff. And he has a bunch of ‘Elves’ scrawny geeks who do all of his research to help him break in. If a security system exists, they know about it and any bugs it has. They’re really bizarre, no common sense at all, just what can be learned in a book or from a computer screen.

“Then there’s Tooth and her Mini-Fairies.” Jack was steadfastly avoiding the word baby, just in case. “They’re a bunch of girls who can do just about anything you can think of with a computer. Tooth Fairy delegates and helps out if she needs to, but normally she just gives them assignments and they do their own work.”

“Do they help with her everyday job too?” Neal asked, testing the boy for inconsistencies.

Jack made a noncommittal hum. “I don’t think any of them know how to use dental equipment but I can’t be sure. I get most of my intel by overhearing stuff and they don’t exactly talk about their everyday lives much.”

Peter nodded, his intense gaze never leaving Jack. “Makes sense. Continue.”

“Anyway Easter Bunny has these sentinel guys, but they mostly just protect his workrooms. I think they’ll get his supplies and stuff too if he’s running low. Paint and brushes and canvas and stuff. And Sandy has… well, I guess he doesn’t really have anyone now that I think of it. But he’s good at convincing people to do stuff, or setting plans in place to make them do what he wants without telling him to. It’s like he molds their thoughts and dreams until they do what he wants them to do. So, it’s almost like everyone works for him.”  

            He leaned back in his chair and spread out his hands as though laying cards onto a table. “So. What was the lie?”

            “Not the first.” Neal said certainly.

Peter nodded in agreement. “So either the second or third.”

            “Wooooow.” Jack drawled slowly. “What would the FBI do without you deductive skills?”

            Peter cast the teen a glare but otherwise didn’t reply. “The problem is, the bit about accomplices makes a lot of sense when you assume that they all have their own businesses all over the country, but-“

            “But if they have the locations, then they don’t have accomplices. That would make it really hard to run the businesses when they’re away on less than legal excursions.”

            “But there could be workers who aren’t necessarily accomplices if they don’t know what their bosses are doing while away.”   

            “If that’s the lie then there would be a lot of people running around New York without legal jobs.”

            Neal grinned. “You say that like there aren’t already. Also, not necessarily. A big part his second one was that none of them lived in New York permanently. If it’s the lie then they could have second jobs here, jobs other than what he said.”

            “Then the accomplices could work there.”

            “Exactly. I say the second one is the lie.”

            Jack grinned. “Is that your final answer?”

            Neither hesitated as they simultaneously answered yes. Neal wasn’t one to be tricked by a simple happy expression, and Peter too used to Neal to be fooled. Jack just shrugged. “Yup. Looks like I’m going to have to try harder next round.”

            “Looks like you lost your snack.” Caffery said with a grin, happier about beating the child than was really warranted.

            “Guess I’ll just have to eat more now.” Jack responded, reaching out to grab an apple. “So then, next round. I’ll make it simpler now, I think I was trying to be too complex. The Guardians have a bunch of different reasons for stealing, let’s see if you can figure out which ones are true. First, they steal in order to help children. That’s where they got the name ‘Guardian’ and their aliases. Whatever they steal they use the money from it or from selling it and donate most, if not all, of it to orphanages, children’s hospitals, or any other sort of kid’s organization.

            “Second, they steal to fight off their eternal foe: Pitch Black. He’s a real bad guy, tall, dark, creepy, British accent, tons of aliases, penchant for big crimes but almost completely unheard of, too They call him ‘The Boogeyman’.”

            “Finally, third. They steal just because they’re bored, smart, and like shiny things. I mean, its child’s play for them to steal millions in minutes, so why not do it? Most of the time they resell the stuff, but they all have certain things that they take just for themselves. Tooth likes old books and carved ivory, Santa likes ancient toys, Bunny Faberge eggs, and Sandy likes gold, especially gold sculptures or designs. There. I think that’s better. Try and figure this one out.”

            “Second one.” Peter answered without hesitation.

            Neal tossed him an irritated glance. “Peter-“

            “I refuse to believe that there is a Disney cartoon villain out there monologing about how he’ll rule the world by buying fancy art.”

            “It would be a pretty farfetched lie.”

            “Maybe that’s exactly why I said it. Who knows. Or maybe it is true, it does sound crazy. Then again, how odd would it be that their interests match their nicknames. Seems convenient for me.”

            Neal smiled as the teen took the words out of his mouth. “Which of course, makes it seem like a very farfetched lie”

            “Which may or may not be true.” Jack added with a grin. “Of course, why would people who are this good at what they do simply give all of their stuff away for kids they don’t even know? Doesn’t seem like the usual criminal profile.”

            “We already know that the first one was true.” Peter interrupted. The teen simply shrugged.

            “Figured you did. Just wanted to make sure all bases were covered.”

            Neal said nothing for a long while, then he sighed. “Fine. I’ll go with Peter.”

            Jack smiled broadly. “Nope! I win that round.”

            “Then the third was the lie.”

            Jack said neither yes or no, simply shrugging. He kind of gave that one to them. “This begs the question. I only know a tiny bit more about the Guardians, but I know a lot more about Pitch and he’s a much bigger fish with a lot more dangerous teeth. What do you want the last round to be about?”

            Neal and Peter shared a meaningful glance before the agent spoke. “Depends. Is part of that ‘tiny bit’ their civilian names?”

            Jack grimaced and shrugged. He knew, but that was part of Baby’s Do-Not-Tell category. “They always refer to each other in their code name. All the time. It’s creepy really.” Not a lie.

            “What about where their headquarters are?”

            Now Jack looked uncomfortable. He bit his lip looking for a lie before sighing and admitting to the embarrassing truth. “Well… the thing is I’m not as invisible as I would like to think. I kept eyes on them for a while but… I got caught. I snuck into Santa’s place when they were already on high alert and… well let’s just say that his Yetis may not always be observant, but they’re strong enough to keep hold of a struggling 14 year old. After a good bit of flustering and yelling I was able to talk my way out of it but… the place was cleared out the next day.”

            “So you’ve given us nothing that could help us to arrest these guys.”

            Jack blinked owlishly for a moment before slowly nodding. “I guess… I guess not. I can show you their old place. Dunno what you’ll find though.”

            Neal nodded. “If that’s all you have…”

            “Yeah,” he responded, refusing to fidget or lower his eyes. “So what’ll it be?”

            The two watched Jack carefully before Neal answered. “Let’s hear about this Pitch character.”

            Jack grinned. “Great! Okay, so first bit. He is the leader of a really big empire. He calls his men nightmares and they can be almost anyone. They kind of mostly act alone. He funds them but… he doesn’t care what they do as long as it’s crime. He’s messed up like that. They’re all over, you might have some of them in your own jails and they just don’t think to mention him. Or choose not to. Every once in a while, he’ll call them all together with some task or job, but mostly they roam free.

            “Second bit. As for him, he does a bunch of stuff. Let’s see, white collar-y stuff would be artwork and sculptures and money like things, right?” The two nodded, bemused, and he continued. “Well, he steals and buys a bunch of artwork, but more to give himself a name than because he actually likes art. Well, he likes dark and gruesome stuff, but not normal artwork. All he cares about is money. Actually I heard that he does more than just buy and sell artwork, sometimes he’ll sneak into museums and stuff to find the rarest of the rares, so that he can destroy it.”  

            Neal frowned, feeling a mini heart-attack when he thought about priceless artwork being maliciously destroyed. “Why?”

            Jack shrugged slightly. “How much would you pay for a Van Gough? A lot right? Probably more than you could get working at the FBI for 20 years.” Neal and Peter nodded. “Imagine if you knew that there was only one Van Gough left in the entire world. How much would you pay?”

            Neal swallowed, mouth dry as he mentally calculated the figure. “… But, the art…”

            “Like I said, he doesn’t care. He does it with all kind of stuff, but only when he gets his hands on a lot of other pieces. He buys under a ton of names. Pitch Black, Cucuy Night, Nigel Faris, Dublin Nox-“

            “Faris?” Peter interrupted. “That was the buyer set up for _The Railway_.”

            Jack shrugged. “Probably why the Guardians stole it.”

            “How did you-“

            “Really? We’re going through this again? Anyway, those are all the names I know and I’m pretty sure none of them are his real one, so on to the last bit of news.”

            At this his joking demeanor left, and he became completely serious almost solemn. “He’s a bad guy. Really bad. If I had to describe him, I would call him a terrorist. He doesn’t really care about art or precious things or even money. He likes power. He feeds off of fear. Especially fear of him. He does whatever he can to make people worry, make them panic. He’ll do anything, raise the crime rate, start destroying rare things, anything. He has this drug that he made, Nightmare Sand. It’s a copy kinda of Sandy’s stuff except instead of good dreams, it only gives you nightmares and fear.

“He’s never tried using it in a biochemical attack but… with a hand in the drug business… just a few sprinkles in a couple of choice drugs would be enough to cause complete hysteria. And he would love it. But… but the worst is… when he’s at large children tend to go missing. For days, months, hours… Eventually they’re all found but… they’re not the same. Small fears become terrors, they won’t sleep at night… children who wouldn’t pet dogs suddenly scream and hyperventilate whenever they see one. A kid who avoided clowns will sob whenever someone mentions a circus. Its… scary and horrible.”

There was a long period of silence, then Jack finally broke it, voice sounding awkward. “I- I think that’s it. So what’s the lie?” He asked, a grin gracing his face, looking as false as a Prada purse in a trailer park.

Peter and Neal shared a glance. Both obviously wanted to question the boy, to ask him more about the last bit of information, concern lacing through their beings. However, both knew how useless it would be to press and the look was more a promise to discuss it all later than anything else. “The first.” Neal answered. Peter said nothing, at that point he didn’t care about the first and second answers, it was the third that worried him, and it was all too obviously true.

Jack nodded. “Yup, you got it.” He answered with a tense smile. “Guess you win. What are your questions?”

“You’re in a hurry.” Neal remarked, forcing an idle expression as he took a deep drink of his coffee.

Jack shrugged. He was getting uncomfortable, he never was indoors for long nor was he usually the center of attention. When he was, he usually felt in control, probably more than was warranted, but between the unfamiliar game and the combined wits of Neal and Peter, he felt his usual control slipping. “I’ve got places to go, people to see. Plus, I’m ready to get you guys out of my hair now that I lost the game. Usually the prize is just that they don’t have to pay.” He answered, fidgeting uncomfortably in his chair and eventually giving up to crouch on the seat despite the pain in his ankle. He always felt better when he could stand quickly. The two shifted nervously, worried that the boy would leave. Jack felt a tinge of his usual control return, but it wasn’t as satisfying as it usually was.

“Alright, fine.” Neal quickly interrupted placating. Jack relaxed minutely, trying to anticipate what the questions would be. Maybe information on gangs or more questions about the guardians or- “How old are you Jack?”

The teen blinked in surprise. “What kind of question is that?”

“It’s one that I want to know the answer to.” Neal responded. Jack shrugged.

“Fifteen.” He answered, curiosity rampant in his voice. Neal whistled lowly.

“Only twelve when you started getting a record. Impressive.”

“No, what’s impressive is that I was good enough at twelve to get a record, but you guys hadn’t even heard of me until last week.”

Neal smiled and nodded in agreement, but before he could say anything more Peter interrupted with his question, his voice only professional despite the worry in his eyes. “Where do you live, Jack?”

Jack shifted on his perch. Oh, so that was it. They were concerned for him. How _sweet_. He tried to infuse the right amount of sarcasm into the thought, but it really was kind of nice to have someone worried about him freezing at night. Unusual, but nice. “Here and there.” He answered. “Depends on the season. I’m a fan of camping out under the stars in summer, in parks and stuff. When the weathers bad but it’s warm out I’ll find a warehouse or storage closet to hide out in. During holidays I can usually find an empty house from where people are visiting family. Usually in the winter I’ve saved enough over the year to get a cheap hotel room or something for a few months.”

“Usually?” Neal asked.

Jack shrugged, he couldn’t afford to this year, not with his broken leg sapping up so much of his funds. Most of the time he hid between bookshelves at Sandy’s library or made a nest in a broom closet somewhere. If he thought there would be a snow day he found a school to hide out in. “Do you really want that as your question?”

Neal said nothing for a moment before shaking his head. “Not now. Maybe next time we play.”

Peter snorted, as though he couldn’t possibly imagine going along with all this again. Jack bristled at the sound, nearly growling when he turned on the agent. “I won the second round. You have to come to me for information next time you need it, those were the rules. We _will_ play again.” His face sunk into a scowl for a millisecond before he suddenly grinned. “Of course, I’ll win that round and you’ll actually have to pay me so it doesn’t matter what questions you come up with.”

“Fine, then I have a question.” Peter said, irritation hinting his voice. “Why all of the games?”

Jack grinned. “I get bored. Usually I can make enough money for a couple of days in just a few well done lifts. This keeps life entertaining. Also, it’s the only time the invisible boy gets seen.” He said, smile never wavering. The two men shared a glance. Translation: the kid was lonely and just wanted someone to pay attention and play with him, and he was desperate enough to do this to do it. Just like Valentine had guessed. But, if the kid had won, the game would have already been over. It must have been quite the prize to make him willing to chance losing time with two men giving him their complete attention.

Neal looked the boy dead in the eyes as he asked the final free question of the night. “If you had won, what would you have asked for as payment?”

The boy was silent for a moment before answering slowly. “Information.” Peter bristled, looking furious but before he could say a word Jack beat him to it. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, I wasn’t going to ask about any current cases or what info they have on this mob boss or who the undercover agents were or anything like that. Nothing you couldn’t tell me and nothing I intended to sell.”

“What were you going to ask about then?” Neal asked. Jack looked down.

“I answered the question. I’m not saying any more about it until I win, or you win more questions.” He said, voice tinging on angry. His words faded into a stunned quiet.

The suffocating silence was finally cut as the door burst open, a familiar short bald man with glasses making his way in. “Neal, do you have any eighties movies or pineapples? This guy in Santa Barbra-“

He stopped in his tracks as Jack rose in a flurry of movement to jump off of his chair, tugging the new coat over his shoulders as he made his way to the balcony. Within less than a second he was standing with his back braced against the glass of the window, a snarl on his lips. “We agreed, only you two.”

Neal and Peter jumped to their feet, the situation dissolving around them. “I know Jack, I know.” Neal said quickly, shooting his intruding friend freeing a glare. However, before he could tell the man to leave, Mozzie grinned.

“Wait, this is still going on? Great! So you’re the infamous invisible Jack Frost.”

“Apparently not as invisible as I thought.” He replied with a scowl.

“Are you kidding?” The strange man asked, eyes blown wide. “Do you have any idea how few know about you? I mean, Neal hadn’t even heard a whisper of you until the other day, and I’ve heard nothing but rumors. You almost don’t exist, kid. It’s impressive.”

Jack’s posture relaxed marginally as his paranoia gave way to confusion and interest. “Thanks, I think.” He straightened up all the way, regaining his previous ease and comfort. “I answered all of your questions and you got your intel. Things are getting a little crowded in here for my taste and I can’t see any more reason for me to hang around.”

He maneuvered easily through the glass doors, Mozzie’s voice stopping him before he could make it all the way onto the terrace. “Wait! You can’t leave yet, I want to hear about the Black Gold Debacle straight from the horse’s mouth.”

Jack stilled, his lips twitching up as he gave into a laugh. “Of all the stories I could tell, that’d be one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time.” He inched away, clearly ready to be gone.

“Dinner.” Peter said suddenly, the word accented with a slight groan. He didn’t know what he’d been thinking- he hadn’t been thinking. All he knew was that he couldn’t just let the kid disappear again, not after seeing those injuries, the way he attacked the food. Oh well, he’d opened his big mouth, might as well finish what he started. “Dinner, next week at my house. The Tuesday before the trial. Come and tell it to us then.”

Jack paused for a moment, watching the three suspiciously before breaking out in a large grin. “I guess Mrs. Burke did say she wanted to hear a good story. Be there at seven.” He turned, walking towards the terrace edge. “Just a couple more things before I go,” he added as he jumped onto the railing, stumbling slightly because of the injury on his leg. “That third round? Just because what I said was a lie, doesn’t mean it always was one, or that it always will be. Remember that. Also, Neal: 8.” And with that he turned off the roof and disappeared. None of the men bothered to look for him, knowing well that any effort would be met with only empty air.

“Eight?” Peter asked.

“Shoe size.” Neal answered with a hum before turning to the transmitter. “You guys can come up now.” He called as he shut the recorder off. They had all the information they needed by now anyway.

“You’ve got the mini suits here too? Forget it, I’m going to make like Frost and disappear.” Mozzie said, ambling towards the door. “Call me when they all leave.”

“Pick up some shoes you think he’d like while you’re out.” Neal called to him. “Remember size eight.”

“Yeah yeah.”

Mozzie was barely gone when the others returned, Diana looking as though caught between a scowl and a smirk. “You didn’t tell us you were planning to play games Cafferey.”

Neal shrugged, completely unrepentant. “It’s the only way to keep his attention.”

Jones nodded. “Well, I think he was more eager to talk with us than we thought. He knows more than he’s letting on.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked, though he had a good idea what the man was saying.

“First he’s insulted that the Guardians aren’t that big a secret, then he knows that we’re on to the Easter Bunny. In the middle of talking about the Guardians he starts on this bigger fish we should watch out for.”

“Then there was that insanely cryptic ending remark about the lie not always being a lie.”

“You think he’s feeding us information with an agenda.” Neal realized as the two agents nodded. Peter frowned.

“He wouldn’t have anything to gain from it though. Not unless he’s with them.”

Neal shook his head. “If that was true he wouldn’t be so dead set against his name coming up in the report. He wouldn’t be worried about getting in trouble with them if they were lies either.”

There was a long stretch of silence as everyone pondered their thoughts. Finally Peter shook his head and sighed. “Pitch. It’s all about this Pitch guy, the end was a warning.”

Neal nodded. “Makes sense. If there is one thing from all of that that I think is true, it’s that Jack doesn’t like him. He’s afraid of him.”

Peter nodded. “We’ll have to keep an eye on Jack, keep all this in mind. And look into those aliases he gave us. I don’t think we’ll find anything just yet, but keep your eyes out.” The group nodded, silently immersed in their own thoughts as they each left. Neal and Peter sharing a glance that promised further conversation once each had time to process their thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos for anyone who caught the reference!


	7. Dust of Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ!   
> For various reasons I replaced the Ming Vase Debacle with the "Black Gold Debacle". Just to avoid confusion. Thank you.

“Friends for dinner next Tuesday?” El questioned as she settled into the couch beside her husband. “Who?”

            “Oh, you know. Just Neal and Mozzie… and Jack Frost.”

            The woman straightened, looking to her husband in surprise at the unexpected name. “Really?”

            “Yeah. I’m kinda surprised he accepted but…”

            “Huh.” She exclaimed thoughtfully, saying nothing for a moment as she thought. “Honey, when did our list of friends start to only include thieves and other criminals?”

            Peter chuckled lowly. “The instant I gave Cafferey that anklet.”

            The woman chuckled, snuggling against her husband’s chest. “Then I’m glad you did.”

            The man sighed contentedly in reply, the silent _me too_ well understood. The two sat for a moment, watching a mindless television show in a content compatible silence. Finally the woman shifted, looking up at Peter once more. “So, since we’re hosting New York’s greatest teenage pickpocket, I’m guessing the talk went well.”

            Peter groaned and rolled his eyes. “I have no idea. You wouldn’t believe it, El. Apparently you have to play games to get his information and what you pay depends on whether or not you win. We had to go through this whole charade of a game and the information was sketchy at worst and unhelpful at best. And midway through the thing he began talking about some other guy. By now, I’m more confused than before I talked to him.”

            Elizabeth giggled lowly. “Sounds like he really is like Neal.”

            “Too much.” Peter agreed. “but that’s what worries me.” Elizabeth looked to her husband questioningly, but the man simply stared at the beer in his hand as he answered. “I think he’d have to be on his deathbed before he asked for help. He’s too thin, and covered in bruises and other injuries. He wouldn’t come in until we made Jones and Diana go into the van. They were allowed to listen, but he was afraid of being outnumbered. He’s only fifteen, but doesn’t have a home. He’s barefoot in the middle of winter, and I don’t know why! He’s obviously talented enough to afford it.”

            Elizabeth hummed softly. “Poor kid.”

            “Yeah. I wouldn’t tell him that to his face though. I’m not sure he’d appreciate it.”

            “Probably not. Still, I’m glad you got him to come over. I’ll have to make something good.”

            “And while we eat we’ll be treated to a retelling of the Black Gold Debacle.”

            “What’s that?”

            “No clue. But Mozzie sure seemed eager to hear it.”

* * *

 

    “Mozzie, is this gold thing that interesting?”

            “Hey, this kid had Rufus griping about a necklace for a month straight. Anything that can make that rat that mad deserves a prize. I want to hear what he did straight from the horses mouth.”

            Neal smiled thinly. “Can’t argue with that.”

            “So then, spill. What did the kid have to say about the Guardians?”

            “Not much. Well, no he told us a lot, but not much that’ll be much help in finding them. They don’t work alone, they have a benefactor and a bunch of lackeys. They steal to help children and keep stuff out of the hands of some guy named Pitch Black. You hear anything about him? Also goes by The Boogeyman, Pitch Black, Cucuy Night, Nigel Faris, and Dublin Nox.”

            “Some of those are familiar, nothing significant by themselves, but if they’re really all the same person, he could have quite the collection by now. Think this is the seed you were looking for?”

            “Could be. Jack was awfully insistent to changing the topic to him. He knows more about the Guardians than he wants to say, I can feel it. And I’m not sure why he’s keeping it secret. He could be waiting to sell us more information, he could be paid by them to leak certain things or to tell lies, could be one of the lackeys he told us about, it could just be that he finds Pitch of more of a threat, I don’t know. The only thing I do know is that he certainly didn’t like Pitch.”

            Mozzie sighed. “I’ll see what people know. I swear Neal, no more names. People are going to start running away when I come nearby.”

            “They don’t already?”

            “Very funny, Neal.”

            The conman grinned winningly, lounging in his chair. “I thought so.”

            “Yeah, Yeah. So what makes you think Jack is leaving stuff out.”

            “Just a sense. He slipped up a few times, contradicted himself. He evaded a couple of questions, but mostly… I just know. It’s hard to con a conman, after all.”

            “Need me to be on the lookout for anything else?”

            “Just… keep your ears open. If you see him wandering around, keep an eye out.”

            “Sure thing. I’ll keep all my senses open for anything to do with Jack Frost.”

* * *

 

  “Remember, keep all your senses open for anything to do with the Guardians.” A tall, thin woman commanded, her multi-colored dress flashing as gestured wildly. Her hair lay in a short bob, but was no less colorful than the teenage girl she spoke to.

            “Got it.” The girl Jack had dubbed Baby Tooth said with a nod, a smile on her lips. It was her turn for FBI duty, constant searching for anything to do with their group among the database. The searches had started the day after they learned about Bunny, and every day each of the “fairies” took time to study any incoming information or paperwork. Of course, only she was looking for any information about Jack as well. The girl leaned back, computer on her lap as she perused the information, skimming quickly as she looked for a hint of new Intel. Suddenly she straightened eyes wide as text appeared on the screen. Someone from the FBI New York White Collar division was inputting a report under maximum security, even more so than usual. A small grin flashed past her face. It was almost like they were trying to hide it. From a master hacker maybe.

            It took her only a matter of minutes to bypass the firewalls, easily coming upon the hidden report. A startled laugh left her throat as her eyes widened, and she thanked her lucky molars that she had chosen to do the research in the privacy of the empty library. He did it, Jack had actually done it. It was all there, in the black and white type of a computer screen, everything she told him that he could reveal, and more than even she had thought to mention about Pitch Black. Using his name she quickly did another search through the database and couldn’t stifle another grin. They were already looking into some of his more often used aliases. “Jack you are a lifesaver.” She breathed, feeling a pang of regret knowing that no one would ever know what he’d done. His name wasn’t even listed in the report. Under the heading where the agent would normally say where they got the information, there was only the word CLASSIFIED, with a * on both sides. She smiled softly, they looked kind of like snowflakes.

            Without wasting any more time the girl surged to her feet, running to where The Tooth Fairy was meeting with the rest of the guardians in an informal meeting, more to stay connected than anything else. “I got a hit!” She shouted as she entered the room, paying no heed to the conversation she was interrupting, knowing they would find her information more urgent. “And it’s _big._ She connected her laptop to the huge monitor against one wall, hearing gasps as the extensive report took the screen. From behind she could hear the mixed cursing in both Ausralian and Russian, and Tooth’s favorite expletive of “Oh cavity!”

            She finally turned, seeing the surprise float across the faces of the Guardians as they read what she had already digested. Bunny had jumped to his feet, the tall, muscular m02an reading the screen, his fluffy blonde-gray hair puffing out behind him, a couple of telltale strands sticking up like ears, though he usually had those smoothed down. Santa stood next to him, quintessential round belly sticking out with a thick grey-white beard laying over it. North was the oldest of their group, but had the enthusiasm and energy of a young man so it in no way detracted from the team. Sandy stood on the other side of the room, a eggnog forgotten in his hand. The man was fairly short and plump, with blonde hair nearly the same tone as his golden-tanned skin. The Tooth Fairy stood as a bright and colorful slim figure amid them all and Baby Tooth had to hold back a grin as she thought, not for the first time, how strange it was that they all resembled their codenames so well.

            The room descended into a tense silence as the group painstakingly read through the document, occasionally muttering to themselves. It wasn’t until they got to the part about Pitch that they exploded, sending the room into a momentary chorus of surprised yelling before it settled again as they read on. Finally finished, Santa cursed loudly, Bunny, Tooth, and Sandman all obviously sharing the sentiment. Bunny growled low in his throat.

            “ ’thought we agreed it was too dangerous to talk to them.” He snarled, the information far too precise and advantageous to their cause to come from any outsider.

            North nodded with a scowl. “We did. Someone did not listen.”

            “But who?” Tooth asked, and it was all Baby could do not to shift guiltily.

            “I do not know. I will interrogate everyone, try and discover who would have talked.”

            Baby Tooth’s heart nearly stopped. It was impossible to lie to Santa, he seemed to always know when you weren’t telling the truth. Everyone called it his Naughty and Nice meter, and it was infallible. The Guardians trusted his word better than the best polygraph or lie detector in the business, and to be fair he was probably much more consistent. Baby Tooth felt a trill of nerves run through her before she steadied her breathing. She could do this, she knew she could. She wouldn’t have to lie, just… not tell the whole truth. She could do that. It would be just like playing games with Jack, let the audience think whatever they wanted while they spilled secrets from right under their noses. She could do this.

            The guardians were nodding, each looking upset and disgruntled as North continued. “I will start with my men,” He said almost regretfully, but he couldn’t accuse his friend’s teammates without checking among his own. “Could take a while, I will call you all when am done with a group.”

            The other three nodded, but then Tooth looked to the girl by the computer. “Do you just want to go now, get it over with?”

            Nononononono! “Why not?” She said, trying to keep her nerves hidden.

            Santa smiled, his rosy red cheeks brightening. “Perfect! Come, sit.” He gestured to some chairs. “No use being uncomfortable.”

            Baby Tooth immediately complied, smoothing out her multi-colored skirt as she sat and hoping desperately that it didn’t seem like a nervous twitch. She turned her gaze expectantly to meet Santa’s. He was still smiling at her kindly and she wondered to herself if it was part of his method, disarming his victims with a happy smile while secretly watching their every move.

            Still looking at her kindly, the man began his interrogation. “Did you leak information about the Guardians?”

            “I’ve never talked about the Guardians to anyone who wasn’t already in.” She swore, her mind flickering to the person she’d leaked information to in order to get the FBI curious enough to talk to Jack. Luckily, she hadn’t really mentioned them by title and it had taken place using snail mail rather than anything that could be used to lead back to her. Writing something out didn’t count as speaking, did it?

            Santa nodded, as though expecting the response. “So when you spoke with the FBI agent, what exactly did you say?”

            “B-but I never spoke with an FBI agent, I’ve never even met one.”

            “Right, right. Of course. So what exactly did you say about the Guardians?”

            “I haven’t talked about the Guardians at all! Except for, like, people who already know.”

            “Who outside of us have you talked to recently, I want all their names.”

            “Only the guy working the counter at Starbucks. Everyone else you already know.”

            The interrogation seemed to go on for hours, the questions an endless task of reputation tht would leave liar fumbling, but Baby Tooth stuck to the limited truth, and though there were some questions she undoubtedly could have answered better, in the end Santa nodded.

            “She’s clean.” He turned to the girl with a smile. “You’re good to go.”

            Baby glanced at the Tooth Fairy, getting a nod from her before smiling and grabbing her computer. She forced herself to hang around the base for a little over an hour before sneaking out to find her favorite pick pocket.

* * *

 

  Jack sat at his usual perch on a park bench, watching the children play with the badminton set that was miraculously still standing. Winter’s first snow had melted fairly quickly, as it often did, and the ground was clear of white even as the air remained bitterly cold. He sat huddled in his new, warm coat, bare toes barely sticking out from where he crouched in fetal position on the bench. A sudden burst of wind prompted him to rise to his feet, his mind turning to finding a warm place to rest and hoping that he had swiped enough cash to get a motel room. They were due for a bad cold spell, temperatures going into the negatives during the night and he wanted to be inside for that, preferably somewhere with heat.

            He was just crossing the threshold of the park when a blur tackled him to the ground with a loud squeal. “Jack you did it!”

            “Ugh. One of these days I’m going to teach you how to https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/144a8afae5293cb3get someone’s attention without running into them.” The paler teen said wryly, not that the girl seemed to notice. She was still preoccupied with nearly squeezing the boy to death.

            “You did it! You did it! You did it! Ohmigosh, I saw the notices on the database first, so I got to report them to everyone. It was absolutely perfect! Oh man, and then Santa said he was going to interrogate everyone and see who had leaked, but they decided to do me first and I was so scared. But I just remembered our games and I fooled him. It was great!”

            “Breathe Baby Tooth.” Jack commanded lightly with a chuckle. “So I take it I did alright?”

            “You were perfect!” She gushed, still slightly high on adrenaline from the interrogation with Santa.

            “Good, good. I wasn’t sure. They were… weird. Not like my usual clients. For one thing they were much better at the game.” He grinned. Baby Tooth rolled her eyes.

            “I know who your regular customers are, trust me I’m not surprised. So do you think you could contact them again if I have more info for you to give?”

            “Yeah, I’ll be seeing them often enough.”

            The girl paused, a slightly worried look crossing her face. “What do you mean?” She asked, her mind conjuring ideas of them following Jack, trying to get some evidence on him for some crime all because she had to ask him to talk with them.

            Jack winced. He hadn’t really been planning to tell her about the dinner invitation. It felt too weird, too unnatural and he could hardly believe that he had really been invited to sit at an FBI agent’s table and have supper with them. “Oh, you know. I mad e them agree to come to me first when they need intel from downtown. Then there’s that court case I have to testify at… plus they kind of invited me to dinner.”

            “What?”                                          

            “Agent Burke invited me to his house for dinner so that they could hear about the Ming vase thing.”

            “And you’re really going to his house?”

            Jack shrugged. “Why not; it’s free food. Besides, I’ve been there before; it’s no place I couldn’t escape from in a pinch.     

            Baby Tooth said nothing for a long moment, seeming to seize the boy up. Finally she grinned, the smile almost cleaving apart her face. “Awww, Jackie’s made some new friends!” She reached up to ruffle Jack’s white hair, having to stand up on her tip toes to reach. The boy just snorted and shook his head out.

            “They aren’t friends, they’re just customers. A story for a dinner.”

            The colorful girl just smirked. “Uh, huh. I’m sure.”

            Jack rolled his eyes, mentally cringing away from the word friends. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want them as friends- he really, really did- he just didn’t want to assume friendship where there was none. At least this way it wouldn’t sting when they started ignoring him again. He glanced at the smiling girl and knew that she wouldn’t understand, and that he would never dare to tell her something like that. He cast out his mind for a new subject.

            “So do they suspect me? I can just see Cottontail cursing my name when something goes wrong, no matter what it is.”

            “No, you’re safe. Your- uh, your name didn’t come up at all actually.” She answered, shifting a little awkwardly.

            Jack shrugged. “It’s a good thing. I’d rather they not figure it out. In fact, at the moment it’d probably be best for the two of us if they forgot about me completely.” He thought for a moment. “Though to be on the safe side it might be smart if I avoided all of them for a while, just so that they don’t get any bright ideas.”

            The girl nodded. “Probably. Sorry Jack.”  
            “It’s okay, I’ll just have to pull my pranks on some unsuspecting shop owners instead. I had some that would really ruffle that rabbit’s fur too.”

            Baby Tooth laughed before a small beep sounded, prompting the girl to look to her phone. A grimace crossed her face. “I have to go, Mom doubled up my FBI duty because Santa cleared me.”

            Jack nodded. “No prob,” He replied, waiting until the girl turned and began walking the other way before turning himself. His mind turned to the FBI, more specifically to the price he was planning to one day ask of them. He wanted intel, wanted information that only they would be able to find. He cast his mind back, to his past until it hit a brick wall four years back. He wanted them to help him find out who he really was.

* * *

 

   “I want to find out who this Jack Frost really is.” Peter said, making Diana look up from her computer.

            “Sir?” She asked.

            “Jack Frost. I don’t think much will come up from the name, but if you could just… poke around a little, look for missing kids his age, people matching his descriptions, anything you can think of.”

            The woman nodded, already starting her search. “How long has he been on the streets?”

            “At least three years, I’d look anywhere from two to three years before that too.”

            “Got it. I’ll see what I can find and let you know when something comes up.”

            Peter nodded. “Neal too. He would want to know.”

            “What would I want to know?” A voice said as a smirk and fedora came into view.

            “I’m trying to find Jack Frost, see what he isn’t telling us about his past.”

            “Don’t you think that’s a little… invasive?”

            “There are always background checks done on informants. This one just has to be done differently than most.”

            “Jack won’t be happy about this.”

            “He doesn’t have to know.”


	8. Come In

Jack yawned and leaned back against the shelving behind him, grateful for the school and work that kept people busy during the week. He was currently crouched against the back shelves at a Best Buy, mostly hidden as he watched the movie playing on the display TVs. He was idly watching the romantic comedy, his minds miles away at the Burke house. He’d never been invited over to dinner before. He wondered if he was supposed to do anything, if anything was expected of him. His attention was torn back to reality as one of the star struck lovers in the second rate film began panicking about what she would wear to meet the family of her “true love”. Jack rolled his eyes, inwardly mocking the overdone movie before a small nugget of doubt managed to reach into his mind. Was he supposed to wear something nice?

            He looked down at his ratty sweatshirt and threadbare pants, knowing that the extras in his bag wouldn’t look any better. Slowly he rose to his feet, leaning heavily on his staff to rise before making his way out of the store to walk along the sidewalk to see the great array of stores that sat on either side of the street, any number of them clothing stores. He gently thumbed his day’s bounty, a pile of small bills in his pouch. He certainly had enough to get something new but… he sighed. He didn’t really like stealing. Well, no that wasn’t true. He loved the thrill of the chase, the adrenaline that came with the danger, the need to outsmart his opponents, the fun. Oh he loved that, but he didn’t like the taking aspect of it all. He didn’t like that he could ruin someone’s opportunity to get a nice dinner with a girlfriend or take away the money destined for a child’s new toy. Of course he knew that not all money had such noble destinations, but still.

            It was different when he was stealing money for food or a hotel room or to get toys for the park. Then it was for something he needed or to help someone, but he tried to keep away from anything that wasn’t essential. He sighed, frustrated with his inability to come up with a decision and flopped onto a bench, idly watching a young boy and his mother sitting up the street beside a cardboard cutout begging for money. That kid needed new clothes too, probably more than he did.

            As he watched the boy stood beside his mother, gently shaking a can that jingled with coins as people passed, occasionally dropping coins into the can. However, the boy stepped too close to a passing businessman, and received a shove that to any other would have been slight, but sent the exhausted and hungry child to the ground, his small hands scraping against the cold pavement. A small growl left Jack’s throat. Oh, that was not okay. He rushed through the crowd, not even bothering to say sorry as he bumped into the man, pocketing the man’s wallet as he moved. He turned into an alleyway, digging deep into his backpack before coming out to approach the boy and his mother, the child tearing up as the woman gently kissed his scraped palms.

            Jack crouched down near them and lay his staff onto the ground, smiling gently as he palmed the small crystal snowflake he had drawn from his backpack and slid it into the sleeve of his hoodie. “Hey, are you okay?” He asked, unsurprised to only receive a shy glance and sniffle in surprise. “It’s alright, that guy was a meanie, but it’s okay, I have magic.”

            “Magic?” The boy asked shyly as he leaned closer to Jack, out of his mother’s grasp as the woman watched the teen with wary but amused eyes.

            “That’s right. Watch.” He held up his bare hands before twisting them suddenly, pulling the crystal flake from his pocket with the flurry of motion then brandishing it in front of the child’s wide eyes.

            “Woah!” The kid exclaimed, eyes impossibly widening further as Jack made the crystal jump and dance across his knuckles, flipping it over and under his hand to the delight of the child. The boy was watching him with a centered, oneness of focus that only a child could achieve, managing to block out nearly all of the world around him. With the speed and skill only a trained magician or expert pickpocket could maintain, Jack managed to sneak a pair of Band-Aids out of his coat pocket with his other hand. With some especially impressive tricks his hands ghosted over the boy’s upturned palms, leaving the bandages applied to the unsuspecting child’s scrapes as he finished the show with a flourish.

            “That was awesome!” The boy cried.

            Jack looked down to him with mock surprise. “What that? That wasn’t magic, silly boy. That was just talent and practice. _That_ is the magic.” He nodded to the boy’s hands and the child looked down in surprise, gasping in wonder at the bandages on his slight wounds.

            “Woah!” He breathed eyes impossibly wide. Slowly small fingers curled around the thin tan strips, as though making sure they were really there. “Woah! Mom! Mom look!” He cried, turning to practically shove his hands into his mother’s face. The woman smiled fondly.

            “Incredible.”

            “Uh-huh! Uh-huh!” The boy replied excitedly, turning back to Jack as the woman mouthed a ‘thank you’ to the white haired teen. Jack grinned in reply, but he wasn’t done yet. He reached into his pocket to pull out the stolen wallet, and the child’s eyes and grin widened at the sight as the boy scrambled to grab his forgotten can.

            “Ah ah ah.” Jack admonished as the boy thrust up the offering cup. “This is another piece of magic. Look here,” He commanded, pointing to the ID in the clear pocket. The child gasped, recognizing the picture.

            “That’s the man that pushed me down!” He pouted.

            “That’s right. This is his wallet.”

            The boy gasped. “How did you get it?”

            “Magic, remember?” Jack grinned cheekily as he pulled the bills out of the wallet and stuffed them all into the can. He looked up to the boy’s mother to see her watching with silent tears in her eyes.

            “Thank you so much.” She said breathlessly.

            Jack shrugged. “No problem. Guy should’ve thought twice before messing with a kid. Happy to help.”

            “Is there anything I can-“

            “Nah, nah. Didn’t do it for anything. Mostly just bored and I have to let my magic out somehow.” He answered with a wink to the boy before hesitating. “Actually, maybe… maybe some advice.”

            “Advice?” The woman asked dubiously.

            “Yeah. Um… I’m going to a dinner party-thing on Tuesday and it’s kinda the first one I’ve been to. So am I expected to do anything or…”

            “You may want to bring a hostess gift, that’s always polite.”

            “And that is...?”

            The woman chuckled. “You really don’t know much about dinner parties. Didn’t your parents take you anywhere?”

            Jack froze and his eyes fell to the cracked cement. “Um, no. Not really.”

            The woman’s eyes widened. “Oh, sorry I- uh-" She coughed and, deciding nothing she could say would really make much difference, changed to the original subject. "A hostess gift is something you give the hostess. They're usually a dessert, or bottle of wine. Something for the dinner.”

            Jack grinned in reply, easily ignoring her earlier comment. “Thanks, I appreciate it.” He knelt down to the boy, smiling at the child. “You know, I’m good at all kinds of magic. Making crystal float, making things appear out of nowhere, all kinds of stuff. But you know what I’m best at?”

            “What?”

            “Turning invisible. If you close your eyes and count to three I’ll disappear, and no matter where you look, you won’t be able to find me. Ready?”

            The boy nodded and closed his eyes, moth moving as he silently counted to the magic number. As soon as his mind sounded the word ‘three’ his eyes shot open and true to his word, the strange teen disappeared. The child turned to his mother. “Where did he go?” He asked in wonder, and his mother could only gape and survey the crowd searching in vain for the boy even though she had never closed her eyes.

            “I don’t know.” She admitted truthfully.

* * *

 

  “You sure you don’t want me to cook my famous Pot Roast, hon?” Peter asked jokingly as Elizabeth flipped through her favorite recipes.

            “I thought you wanted Jack to enjoy the dinner.” The woman teased back. The agent chuckled to himself, sliding up to the woman to encircle her in a hug. “I just wish I had some clue what he actually would like.”

            “I don’t think he would be particularly picky.”

            “Shush you.” She commanded before deciding on a pasta dish that she knew Neal loved that would give plenty of opportunity for someone to grab seconds. “So how’s the case going?”

            “We have eyes and ears open for any signs of the Guardians or Pitch and his aliases, but so far all’s been silent.”

            “I meant the mysterious Jack Frost case. Any luck finding out who he is?”

            “Diana said she was on to something, but wanted to make sure before she said anything. Something about conflicting information. She won’t have much time tomorrow, but I should have some more information by Wednesday. I’m sure we’ll find something. He can’t be any harder to find than Neal after all.”

            “Then you’ll find him. Now come on, help me make sure I have all of the ingredients for my garlic bread.”

* * *

 

   Jack shifted nervously from his hiding spot within the shadows, staring across the street to the quaint house that sat there, unassuming and inviting. Biting his lip he shifted the box in his grasp from hand to hand and ran his fingers across the front of his new sweater. After giving the family the cash from the man’s wallet, he had used his card to buy a new outfit and supplies for the hostess gift. Usually he was against using the credit cards in the wallets he pinched- stealing a person’s cash was one thing, dipping into their life savings was a whole other ball game- but he figured that he would splurge; the guy was a jerk after all.

            He took the card to a high quality sporting goods store and bought the sturdiest, warmest looking hiking pants he could find. He liked them, dark brown with decorative ties keeping the ends wrapped tight around his calves so that they wouldn’t drag or catch on the ground. He’d found a new hoodie there too, the same deep blue as before, though this one had fancy decorative white and silver scroll around it’s hood, shoulders, and pouch. It almost looked like Frost, which he figured couldn’t hurt his title. All in all, with the new hoodie, pants, and coat, he thought he looked pretty snazzy. Still, that didn’t stop him from remaining in his hiding spot, hesitating from making those final steps.

            He glanced down at the watch around his wrist, grimacing slightly. 6:43. Peter never did say what time he was expected, and 6:45 was almost certainly fifteen minutes early or fifteen minutes late. Either way, this was going to be awkward. He rocked back on his heels, trying to convince himself that he was checking the strength of his foot to make sure he didn’t have to travel back to his hiding spot to grab his staff. Fortunately- or unfortunately- his foot held firm and he was out of excuses. With a final deep breath he made his way out of the shadows and made his way to the door, knocking shyly on the door even as Satchmo’s barking sounded from within.

            The door opened to Elizabeth’s smiling face, a golden doggy head appearing at her knee. “Nice to see you again Jack.”

            “Uh, yeah you too, Mrs. Burke.” He responded with a grin, desperately hoping to cover his nerves behind a smile.

            “Please, call me Elizabeth.” She smiled. It seemed odd to be telling a strange teen to call her by her first name, but if Peter and Neal were to be believed he had all the skill of an adult. “Well come on in, hope you like pasta.”

            Jack followed her into the house, smiling as the door shut out the cold behind him, leaving him enclosed in a warm and cozy home smelling of garlic and tomatoes. “It smells amazing.” The teen said with an exaggeration sniff.

            “That’s my favorite thing about Italian, you get hungry the instant you step into the house.”

            Jack grinned and nodded, feeling his anxiety melt away with the warmth, scent, and the woman’s smile as he moved to hang his coat on the rack beside the door. “I hope I wasn’t too late. Or early. Peter never said when to show.”

            “Just in time. Mozzie is in the kitchen now, working his way through a bottle of wine and Peter and Neal will be here any minute now.”

            “Sweet. Oh, um. Here.” He shoved the box to her. “They’re, um, something I made. I call them “Fun Flakes”. Spearmint rock candy.” He smiled sheepishly, more proud of his creation then he liked to admit. His smile turned into a broad grin when Elizabeth opened the lid and looked inside with wonder. Jack had created them himself, mixing melted sugar and spearmint extract and using it to create incredibly intricate snowflake candies. They were a slight blue color, and much larger than actual snowflakes, but he’d made them before and anyone who ate them would always break out into a smile, the pure sugar giving them a burst of fun energy.

            “These are incredible.”

            “Thanks. Lots of inspiration this time of year. They don’t look nearly as good in summer.” He said with an impish grin.

            Elizabeth chuckled and led the teen further into the house, placing the box on a counter next to a large chocolate cake. Mozzie looked up at the two entered, a grin on his lips over his cup of wine. “Ah, Jack Frost. It is an absolute honor to meet an apparition of your skill.”

            “Um, thanks?” The pale boy said with a confused grin. “Nice to meet you too, uh, Mozzie?”

            “Ah, I see my reputation precedes me as well.”

            “Not really. She told me your name before we came in.”

            “Oh.”

            “If it helps, I do see you in the park all of the time, doing spy stuff and stuff like that.”

            “I suppose. But, I’ll have you know I-“

            “Honey we’re home!” Neal called out, Satchmo running from the room to meet the newcomers.

            Jack stuck his head out the hallway. “You’re late, foods all gone.” He called to them, getting only eye rolls in response.

            “With the way my El cooks we could be two days late and there would still be food left.” Peter replied with a smirk.

            “Very funny Peter.” A sarcastic voice called from the kitchen.

            The man chuckled, a grin lighting across Neal’s face as well. Jack smiled and ducked back into the kitchen, quirking a half grin at Mozzie as he sneaked a slice of freshly baked garlic bread from under Elizabeth’s gaze. “I take it you were the one who told Neal about my love for games.”

            “I might’ve heard about it through the grapevine. How’d you like con?”

            “It’s not bad. I could do a lot with it, have a little fun. I’m getting too good at my other games, there’s no competition anymore.”

            “You ever want a puzzle that takes some real mind power to solve, you come find me.”

            Jack’s eyes lit with interest. “I’ll remember that.”

            “Glad to see you’re getting along.” Neal intoned as he and Peter made their way into the kitchen, a smile playing at his lips.

            “Hey, I am a very likeable person.” Jack said with a grin as Mozzie sputtered.

            “So am I!”

            “Alright, alright everyone. Less talking more moving. Help me put all this on the table.” Elizabeth interrupted, handing Jack the basket of bread and Mozzie a salad. Neal grabbed the dressing as they followed El to the dining room where Peter was putting down the last of the plates. Frost waited uncertainly after setting down his dish, only sitting once everyone else had found their seats. He said nothing as the rest of the group settled into a familiar chat as wine was passes around, the bottle skipping over the underage Jack, who claimed content with the lemonade Elizabeth offered. He silently munched on his salad, watching the others like an alien observing human behavior or someone watching a show about a different country on television. It seemed almost bizarre. Him, Jack Frost sitting at a dinner table with two famed criminals, an FBI agent, and his wife; it was like entering a whole new world.

            However, his observations didn’t last long before attention turned back on him. He swallowed thickly as all eyes turned on him, stuffing a large bite of bread into his mouth in a failed attempt to seem casual and in control. Funny how he could face thieves, gangsters, and criminals without problem, but a simple meal could bring him to his knees.

            “So, Jack,” Elizabeth began, but Mozzie interrupted her before she could say anything more.

            “Spill already! I want to hear details.”

            The teen blinked blankly for a moment before realization dawned and he grinned broadly. Oh yeah, the Black Gold Debacle. It was just a story, he could do this. He took in a small breath, sprawling out against his chair as he reached to fill his plate with pasta, attempting to maintain his cover of comfort even as his heart beat fast and hard inside his chest. “Right, but Uncle Sam over here can’t listen as an FBI agent, this is not a confession. Deal?”

            “Yeah, yeah.” Peter said, rolling his eyes.

            “Well, it all happened a little over a year ago, a few days after that Stanton Karter guy was put in jail.”

            Eyebrows rose at the name- as well they should have. Everyone knew the story of Karter, the single father and multi-million dollar tycoon that had been caught abusing his son. Whet no one knew was that Jack had been the “anonymous source” that had sent the incriminating photos in. He’d kept a Polaroid instant camera on hand ever since. “I figured that the house would be nice and empty for a while, and no one would really mind if I helped myself to staying in a million dollar bedroom for a bit. Especially since that girlfriend of his was keeping as far away as possible. While I was there I found a present in one of his drawers, a really fancy looking black gold one with a natural rose diamond.” He said, grinning when he got all of the terms right. He’d had to do a lot of research to figure all that out. I don’t know much about Jewelry, but I thought it looked pretty sweet so I decided I’d check around and see what it was worth. Turned out it was worth quite the pretty penny. Especially when I found a ticket saying that it was a Graff diamond.”

            Neal whistled lowly. Graff had cut some of the most expensive pieces of jewelry in history, and rose diamonds were rare and in high demand. And the price of black gold was nothing to scoff at either. “Depending on the size of the diamond, that necklace could have gone for millions of dollars.”

            Mozzie nodded excitedly, like a child at Christmas. “Rufus said at least two mill. Oh man, he was so mad when-“

            “Hey, hey hey! I’m telling the story here!” Jack interrupted with a grand gesture.   
So anyway, the guy was complete scum so I didn’t exactly feel bad about taking it.” The boy continued his voice dropping down to a growl as he remembered the scenes he had captured on his camera. However, the ferocity was almost immediately discounted as the boy took in a large bite of pasta, sauce dripping down his chin. “I’m sure there was a bunch of other expensive stuff lying around, but I actually had an ok idea about how much the necklace would cost so I thought it would be okay for my first sales attempt. I didn’t really think about how I was only fourteen. But the fences sure noticed. I didn’t get a price over a hundred thousand, no matter what I said or how much I threatened to go to someone else. I know the fences like to buy it for a little cheaper than they’ll sell it for, but taking 95% off is pushing it. Problem was: they knew I couldn’t go to a pawn shop, too suspicious. And it wouldn’t be smart for me to be carrying something like that around in my backpack until I could get a real buyer; especially not when I had just told a ton of people that I had it. I had no choice but be knowingly ripped off.”

            Peter took a glance at the bald felon grinning at Jack. “I take it that isn’t what happened?”

            “Nope!” Jack replied, pausing to refill his plate and grab a piece of garlic bread. “I don’t lie own and take stuff like that. I was mad, and I know that a hundred thousand is a lot of money, but if I gave in then I’d never get a good price on _anything_. So I decided to take the loss and show them I’m not someone they can mess with.”

            “What did you do?” Elizabeth asker, her eyes wide.

            “I contacted every one of them and told them I was ready to sell, gave them the same time and meeting place, noon on the bridge.”

            “Bidding war.” Neal guessed. Jack grinned but didn’t reply.

            “Course they all get there and recognize each other and know that something’s up. They think that I’m trying to raise the price.” He nodded to Neal before continuing. “If was really funny, I was sitting a few feet away the whole time watching as they all began flipping through their wallets seeing if they had enough cash to pay me off.”

            “Smart.” El said with a smile before looking to the bald man who was still giggling in his seat. “but I don’t see why Mozzie is so excited.”

            “Just wait!” The man said with a grin. “It gets better.”

            “So, I do my thing, appear in front of them when they least against it, leaning against one of the support bars of the bridge. I call out to them, get their attention and they all whirl to face me, I can see all of their offers on the tips of their tongues. I was standing up on the railing, you know, away from them. But before they can say anything, I start talking. ‘So you all know that I have a pretty nice piece of jewelry for sale. You know your offers, and let’s just say that I wasn’t exactly happy with them. That is why I’ve called you all here today and-‘ and before I could say anything else, they all start interrupting with offers. For a minute, I pretend to listen until I finally shout ‘Enough!’ and I was like ‘those are all very nice offers, but unfortunately, they came too late. Next time, don’t wait so long.’ And I dropped the necklace into the water.”

            There were gasps around the room, Mozzie laughing uproariously along with Jack, the boy obviously thrilled with the chance to tell his story to a willing audience. “You should have seen their faces. There were like two minutes of just pure shock and terror, like they had stepped into an alternate reality or something. It was hilarious. And- and then they _all_ looked at me, every one of them, at the exact same time. And they still had that stupid look on their face!”

            The same stupid look three of those surrounding him had, now that you mentioned it. Mozzie was still snickering, but the others seemed dazed. Finally Neal shook it off with a grin.

            “You certainly have guts, kid.”

            “C’mon, you would have done the same thing. And it worked, I think. Next time I come around they’ll be offering top prices.”

            Neal had to concede to the point- both of them. “High risk, high reward.”

            “You threw a two million dollar necklace into the ocean.” Peter said, his mind still working to catch up with the conversation.

            The three criminals around the table snorted simultaneously. “Of course not.”

            Jack continued with “It was a fake from the dollar store that I’d painted, but don’t tell any of them that. Just between you and me, my staff is a few inches taller now. Seriously, big secret.”

            “I could sell it if you like.” Mozzie offered. “I could say that it was found by a diver swimming near the city.”

            Peter interrupted before Jack could speak. “Alright, I agreed to listen to the story, but you are not conducting an illegal deal at my dinner table.”

            The bald man grimaced before shooting a glance at the teen and winking. “We’ll talk later.”

            “So then what?” Elizabeth asked, effectively drawing everyone’s attention back to the story. “I mean, I can’t believe they’d just walk away and count their losses after something like that.”

            “Oh they didn’t. They were not happy about it at all. Luckily, I’m fast, much faster than them. I led the team through a truly thrilling chase through New York. I managed to lose them after running through a chocolate shop. I knew it had a back door that was always kept open and ran through the store. I may have knock down one of the specialty Easter baskets on display, and well, my pursuers all had the grace of a water buffalos and weren’t too concerned with keeping the chocolates safe. One of ‘em managed to grab me and, well, let’s just say by the time I snuck out we had destroyed 68of the baskets the day before Easter. The owner was not happy. When I left he was absolutely roaring them. Pretty intimidating dude for a chocolatier too.” Of course he was intimidating, the owner was a renowned art thief and forger, known secretly as the Easter Bunny.

            “Are they still after you?”

            “Nah, they’re angry about the necklace of course, but I think they respect me now, certainly more than they did. Not that I’ve had anything to sell them since then.”

            “Why not?” Mozzie asked, leading the rest of the table to groan. “What? He has talent, not even you can deny it, Suit.”

            “Talent or no, I don’t like you trying to lead today’s youth into a life of crime.”

            Jack chuckled. “I think I’m already well-established in what I want to be. I haven’t stolen anything because I haven’t wanted to, simple as that. Next time you see articles about a millionaire in jail for child abuse, you might want to categorize their possession carefully.”

            “Oh great,” Peter groaned, “You’re not a vigilante too, are you?”

            “Nah, just figure if I’m going to be taking something, might as well be from someone who deserves it.” Jack stretched out in the chair before slouching down comfortably, his tension from earlier melted away as his finished his second plate of pasta. In fact, the atmosphere of the entire room was much more comfortable than it had been at the beginning of the night.

            Elizabeth glanced around the room and, with instincts honed from years of working as a party and events planner, announced that it would be the perfect time to retire to the more comfortable living room to start on the dessert. Within a few moments the group sat clustered among the couch and chairs, at ease with cake and fun flakes in front of them, the adults holding steaming mugs of coffee and Jack clutching a tall glass of milk.

            For a moment a companionable silence filled the room and Jack found himself marveling at the change in his life. Granted, it was just a dinner party, but this was the longest Jack had ever actually been in a home. When the owners knew he was there at least. But it didn’t feel unnatural, or even forced. It almost felt like it was natural. Which would make it just make it harder when he went back outside. Jack felt his eyes wander to the window where snow was just beginning to fall, and shivered.

            “So Jack,” Elizabeth’s voice called the teen out of his revelry. “Tell us about yourself.”

            “Not much to tell that you don’t already know.” He answered with a shrug.

            “Any sibling, parents?” El was probably the only one who could have asked that Jack would have even considered answering. Anyone else and he would have been defensive, but with the woman it seemed like small talk, not an interrogation, and Jack found himself speaking before his mind really caught up with his mouth.

            “Nope and nope.” Not that he knew of at least. “I did some time in the foster care system, but dropped out of it three years ago. Just figured that I wasn’t going anywhere and I’d rather be family-less and free than tied to a house that wasn’t home.” A part of his mind was screaming at him, saying to stop talking, that he was making himself appear vulnerable, but Elizabeth was watching him with wide, earnest blue eyes and he found himself talking still. “I mean, I know that there are foster families that really are doing it for the kids, not the money. I just never got any of those. So I split. Didn’t have any reason not to.”

            Mozzie was looking at him oddly, but with a touch of understanding that had Jack smiling as the conversation tuned to other things, the group slightly embarrassed to make Jack confess something so personal. The teen yawned, mouth gaping as his eyes drooped and he curled up tighter in the easy boy, taking another deep sip of milk. He was getting so tired. He ran around all day in a nervous frenzy, worried about this dinner. Now he was contentedly warm with a comfortably full stomach, curled up in a comfortable seat with the sugary taste of a fun flake lingering on his tongue. He blinked twice, languidly, listening to the steady thrum of voices he almost-sorta-trusted before his eyes slid closed for the last time and he drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, take this as my 'getting to know Jack Frost' chapter. Most of this is just a bunch of schenes that have stuck in my head back when the story line was completely different and I just loved the wscenes so much that I had to keep them. I'm not really sure what purpose they have in this story anymore, but I think the begging of this chapter and the story JAck tells really says a lot about who he is as a person in this AU and it is all stuff that I beleive (and hope) is true to his character)   
> I would love some critique on whether or not you think this kind of stuff is important to the storyline, keeeping in mind that it won't be mentioned again. At least, not much.


	9. A Dream Pang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who's ready for a little hint of Jack's back story?  
> I must say, it is difficult to make it semi-accurate when dealing with modern times where a child falling through a lake means police officers, extensive searches, and possibly a lawsuit. It's kinda convoluted, especially in other chapters where the details are fleshed out more, but we'll just have to see how believable it comes to be.

When Jack woke, the room was dark and silent. For a moment he remained frozen, heart beating fast against his ribcage as he surveyed the unfamiliar room. Finally his mind caught up with the events of the night before and his panic slowed, heart beat lessening. He shifted slightly in his chair as the panic left but the sense of unease remained. He shouldn’t have fallen asleep, shouldn’t have gotten so comfortable. If there was one thing Jack knew, it was that people didn’t really want him around. Most ignored him, and those that didn’t, well, they didn’t make their animosity towards him a secret. Even those who tolerated him for business didn’t really like him. He liked the Burkes, and Neal and Mozzie. He didn’t want to overstay his welcome too soon.

            For a moment the thought filtered out of his mind, and he let himself imagine life if he wasn’t Jack Frost. He didn’t let himself do it often, in fact he avoided it whenever he could. As long as he didn’t think about it too much he loved his life, or at least didn’t mind it. But when he let his mind wander into ‘what ifs’ things tended to turn sour. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from just this once imagining staying on this comfy chair, or even moving to the couch, and falling back asleep until someone came downstairs in the morning. Maybe Mrs. Burke would start making pancakes and he’d get a mile high stack and a big glass of milk as they chatted over the meal. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to try, just to see if… no.

            They would get tired of him eventually, people always did. He had to make this last. He shifted once more, noting with surprise that someone had thrown a blanket over him. He didn’t know whether to smile or grimace as the kindness brought on a pang of desire. He wanted to stay, wanted this kindness, this small act of care. But he couldn’t. He was Jack Frost and he wasn’t supposed to care about any of that kind of stuff, let alone want it. Taking another deep breath he moved to put his feet on the floor to stand, only to feel something beneath his feet. Starting, he looked down to see a box beneath the chair. He opened it slowly and grinned. Neal had remembered his shoes. It was a pair of sturdy looking blue and white sneakers that looked like they would last for years, made with real leather and tough soles. The man had even though to add a pair of socks, considerate since Jack hadn’t worn any since his old shoes completely fell apart.

            The boy slipped on the sock and shoes, once more ignoring the sharp sting in his chest- this was payment, nothing more, he reminded himself. Jack grinned as he wiggled his toes. Perfect fit! Perhaps a little big but that was even better, he could grow into them. He made to move when he noticed the rumpled blanket. What kind of guest would he be if he left a mess like that? He began folding the cloth, taking his time to make sure it was absolutely perfect.

            Finally ready to go he stood, stopping when he saw that the cake was still sitting on the low table from the night before. Surely Elizabeth wouldn’t mind if he took another piece, she had offered it last night after all, hadn’t she? He sat down and helped himself to a large slice. In the back of his mind the teen knew he was stalling, almost hoping someone would wake up and come down to tell him to stay for breakfast. However, the Burke’s and their dog all remained blissfully asleep, and as Jack licked the last of the frosting off of his fingertips, he knew that he had no more reason to stay.

            Grabbing his coat and cinching it tight around his waist he looked outside, the snow was falling quickly now past the streetlights, wind whipping it in all directions. A smile played with a frown on his lips. He loved the snow, but no one would be out to play with him at this time of night, and so for once it didn’t look fun and inviting, only cold. He stepped out into the freezing weather, bundled up warmly, and walked on to where his only belongings were held, knowing that this night there would be no distractions to fight against the loneliness constantly welling up inside.

* * *

 

     Peter wasn’t surprised to find Jack gone by the time he woke up. He fingered the folded blanket and looked down at the empty shoebox. It had taken them a while the night before to realize that Jack had fallen asleep. Too long really. They had been talking for at least ten minutes when Neal turned to ask the boy something only to go quiet. Jack had seemed so much younger than, curled up in the chair fast asleep and completely relaxed. Objectively, Peter had known that Jack was only fifteen, but the boy had never seemed that young. He was too confident, too sure of himself. He put up such a strong, brave front that you forgot who you were talking to. He was just a kid, and at that moment he didn’t even look the fifteen years he was. He was so short, so skinny, he only looked to be thirteen max. That kid was living on the streets, picking pockets and dealing information for a living.

            Peter shook himself slightly. He knew that Jack was perfectly capable out there. He’d been on his own for years, had learned to survive the harshness of the world, but that was even worse. A kid his age shouldn’t have to learn how to survive. They should be at home complaining about homework and chores. Obviously the rest of the room had felt the same the night before because all conversation stopped. Elizabeth began to quietly clear off the table, leaving only the cake and the empty candy box behind as Mozzie grabbed a blanket to wrap over the boy. Peter went to retrieve the shoebox Neal had given him to keep so that they wouldn’t forget to give it to the pale teen. Neal took it from his hands and laid it at the feet of the sleeping child with all the silence and care of a master thief.

            For a moment the four had stood in the archway to the kitchen, silence reining among the group as the watched the child’s sleeping form. Finally Elizabeth spoke, her voice low. “He won’t be here when we wake up, will he?”

            “No.” Neal answered voice just as quiet.

            “When he comes for the trial, tell him… tell him this was fun. We’d love to have him again.”

            Both Neal and Peter nodded, still watching the sleeping child. Not a one of the four mentioned the risks in leaving a strange boy in their house for the night and Peter didn’t even bother to joke about making sure nothing was missing the next day. They knew that everything would be in place.

            They had looked on for a moment more before the two criminals made their way to the door, leaving without a breath of noise beyond the whirling wind outside. Jack shivered as a lick of the cold air touched his sleeping form but quickly stilled, his body well used to the cold. Peter and Elizabeth had watched for a few seconds more before retiring to bed themselves, though it was long before they finally fell asleep.

            Now as Peter stood surveying the room in the early hours of the morning, he wasn’t surprised to find Jack gone, though he was disappointed. It had been freezing last night, but Jack had still gone, silent as a specter and disappearing like frost on a sunny day. He turned as he heard Elizabeth making her way down the stairs, catching sight of the nearly empty cake plate as he did so and couldn’t stop from smiling, his eyes rolling a little of their own accord.

            “I think Jack liked your dessert honey, seems like he had a slice for breakfast.”

            The woman came into the living room, a sad smile on her lips. “Good. We couldn’t have eaten it all anyway.” She sighed. “I knew he wouldn’t be here, but I still kind of hoped.”

            Peter nodded in reply, but otherwise didn’t speak as they made their way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Peter had just sat down with a bowl of cereal when Neal let himself him, smiling as he sat down next to the agent and accepted a mug from the amused El. “I figured your house would seem empty without an adorable thief so I thought I’d come over.”

            Peter snorted and rolled his eyes, but said nothing against the man’s presence as he drank his coffee. “He took your shoes.”

            “Good, knew he would. What did you think about him? Now that you know him.”

            Peter sighed. “I think… I think he’s a good kid. He’s in a bad situation and has a slightly skewered sense of ethics, but he’s not bad. He’s smart and friendly for a stranger we found on the streets. I still say he much too like you for my tastes.”

            “Well I like him!” Elizabeth interjected proudly as she set a bowl next to Neal and reached for the cereal. “He acts different around you guys, but you should see him when it’s just the two of us. He’s awkward and shy and adorable.”

            Peter snorted. “Doesn’t sound like the Jack Frost we know.”

            Neal hummed. “No it doesn’t.”

            “So how about you?”

            “Oh, I like him. And Mozzie’s already trying to come up with a way to recruit him.”

            “Somehow, I don’t think it’ll be that hard.”

            “No, that’s for sure. He has guts. That necklace stunt could have gone a lot worse than it did.”

            Peter frowned. There was something bugging him about that whole story. “Why tell us where the necklace is now? I said I wouldn’t turn him in, and I won’t, but he doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know any of us.”

            Neal shrugged. “That’s not necessarily true. He was a fan remember, knew all about our past cases. I guess he just… felt like we wouldn’t take it.”

            Peter snorted. “That’s dangerous for a kid- for anyone- in his position. He’s too trusting.” He caught sight of the folded blanket on the living room couch. “And at the same time, not trusting enough.” Neal began to speak, but before he could a low beeping filled the air and Peter looked down to his phone. “Diana. She said she may have found something on Jack last night, wants to show it to me as soon as I get in.”

            “Not to mention that meeting with Bryson you have.”

            Peter groaned. “You’re right. I have to talk to him about the trial. He wasn’t happy that Jack refused to come in to talk with him.”

            Neal shrugged. “We shouldn’t have a problem as long as Jack sticks to the facts.”

            “I guess. Well, we’d better get going.” The man rose to give his wife a quick kiss before following Neal out to the car. “Any clue where Jack stays?”

            “Not much. According to Mozzie he’s seen the kid around the parks a lot, both the one near my place and the Timmy Nolan children’s park. He didn’t notice him at first obviously, but now that he knows what the kid looks like he remembers seeing him all over.”

            “Should I be concerned that Mozzie is spending so much time at a children’s park.”

            “Just reminiscing about his favorite politician.”

            “Ah.” Conversation stopped as Peter parked the car, the two getting out to make their way up to the FBI office, only to be stopped almost immediately by Diana the second they got off the elevator on their floor.

            “I think I found something, but… it’s weird.”

            “What is it?”

            She led them to her desk, where stacks of files sat surrounding her laptop. Clicking a few keys she brought up a picture of Jack a few years younger, his eyes wide and a little scared. “I found this in an archive about the children in the foster care system. He was put into the system four years ago and disappeared three years ago. Apparently, beyond a simple required report filed with the police, there wasn’t much of a search. It seems he was returned to the center a lot for pulling pranks.”

            “What’s so weird about that? Seems pretty cut and dry to me.” Neal asked.

            “Check out the name.” She commanded and Neal did, eyebrows rising when he saw it.

            “John Doe.”

            “The social worker couldn’t get a name out of him, or a name of his parents, where he came from or anything. He refused to answer. It was almost like he didn’t exist five year ago.”

            Peter frowned. “Sounds like a dead end.”

            “I found more.” The woman said, handing her boss a file. The same picture stared out from behind the pages. “There was a police report entered about the same time Jack was put into the system about a boy his age breaking into a summer cottage during the winter and squatting there until the owners came in the fall and found him. I did some digging and confirmed that the boy found matches his description and that he was entered into the foster care system when he refused to give a name.”

            “Look and see if you can find anything from before he was found there.”

            “Already did. This is where it gets weird. It took a lot of digging but I found a boy matching his description who disappeared four years ago. The only problem is, he didn’t go missing, he died.”

            “What?”

            The woman pulled up a file on her computer, showing a picture of a boy much younger than Jack, though with his same mischievous smirk and twinkle in his eyes. The boy had chocolate brown hair and eyes, and was only about ten years old, but it was irrefutably Jack. “This is Jackson Overland. His parents died seven years ago and he and his younger sister Emma Overland were both put into the foster care system. Again, they were sent back a lot because of Jack’s pranks. He took his sister ice skating on a pond near Finger lakes while at his last house and fell through some thin ice. When help came he was gone and the lake was already partially frozen again. They weren’t able to do a body search that time of year, but they never found one when they did one that summer. Guess which lake that cabin was on.”

            “Finger lakes.”

            “That’s right.”

            Peter sighed. “Do you have info on the last family he stayed with?”

            “Yep, for both times. Even better I have the phone and address of his social worker and his sister’s current address.”

            “Great.” The man said, accepting the file she handed him. “We’ll check it out after the trial. Any hits on any of the other names we gave you?”

            “Nothing significant but don’t worry, I have my eyes open. How did the dinner go?”

            “Surprisingly normal. If you ignore that the dinner talk was all about crimes.”

            The woman chuckled once before turning back to the computer. “I’ll keep looking into the Guardians thing, see what I can find.”

            “Thanks.” Peter said with a nod as he and Neal separated to do their work, Neal to his desk and Peter to the conference room to meet with Bryson. The lawyer was flipping through his files agitatedly and only looked up when the agent entered.

            “Remind me again why I can’t speak with our prime witness?”

            “He refuses to. He says that it doesn’t matter what he says as long as it’s the truth.”

            “And does he know how easy it is for a lawyer to twist his words?”

            The man could only shrug. “I don’t know. He’s not bad at twisting words himself though.”

            Bryson just sighed in aggravation. “It would probably just make things worse if he tried.”

            Peter shrugged. “I don’t think he’ll really try anything. For now, let’s just focus on my testimony, something we know we can work with.”

            “Fine.”

* * *

 

  Baby Tooth looked up from her computer as Phil, Santa’s right hand man and the last person to be interrogated, left the hall. The Guardians were all still in the globe room, crowded around the computer monitors and laptops that gave them access to everywhere in the world, discussing their next steps. Someone half-heartedly suggested running the interrogations again, but they knew it was a lost cause. If North hadn’t found them the first time, then he wouldn’t a second. She sighed and listened with half an ear. So long as the name Jack Frost wasn’t mentioned, she couldn’t see the conversation being much trouble.

            Instead, she focused on the computer she was currently hacking, one belonging to a female FBI agent named Diana Barragan. She had been the one to enter the information on the guardians, so the Tooth Fairy had put her on the top watch list. The girl frowned as she reviewed what the woman had been up to. Aside from the usual FBI stuff, there were a series of searches into archives and old newspapers and police reports; all seeming to stem from a few years ago and searching for information on a boy in his early teens. That in itself should have been clue enough for the girl, but it wasn’t until she pulled up the file the woman was currently viewing that she realized what she was looking at.

            “Jack…” She whispered, looking at the picture of the young by, hair a silver white and eyes stunningly blue. The woman was researching Jack, trying to find out who he was. Her mouth went dry as she saw what the woman had found, from the brown haired child to the police reports. The girl bit her lip. She should tell Jack about this, she really should. But… he never talked about his past. Whenever she even hinted to it he would close up, barely talking until they got off the subject. The most she could ever get out of him was a shrug or a mumbled ‘I dunno’. This could be her one chance to find out more about the boy she called her best friend.

            With a deep breath she closed the window, determined not to breathe a word, despite the shadows of guilt squirming around her stomach. Luckily she was soon distracted by the Guardians leaving the globe room.

            “Maybe we must expand the search.” Santa offered.

            “To who?” Bunny responded in irritation. “Who haven’t you already questioned?”

            Baby Tooth felt her heart pound nervously, but no one could give reply, Jack Frost far from their minds. Finally Sandy played a ringtone on his tablet, showing it to the group to get their attention. At it’s center was a large picture of the moon.

            “You think Manny’s doing this?” Tooth asked, surprised.

            “Nah, mate. He woulda told us if he was.”

            “Not necessarily.” Santa said, eyes focused. “It is possible that he wanted us known for the same reasons we were considering.”

            “He’s never done anything like this though.” Tooth argued before spotting her worker watching them. “Any more news?”

            The girl shook her head. “They have alerts out for all of Pitch’s known aliases but nothing’s been triggered so far. There isn’t anything new about us, it’s all just FBI stuff.”

            The woman sighed but nodded, that was what she had been expecting. “Keep your eyes open.”

            “I will.”


	10. Trial by Existence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trial time!!  
> Fair warning though, most of my information about courts comes from My Cousin Vinny and select episodes of psych. I tried to do research but there isn't exactly a site that details exactly how a trial goes so... yeah. Bear with me.

Jack was at the courthouse half an hour early and did nothing but shifted on his heels and tried to keep on the opposite side of the building from the chocolate shop that sat underneath the judge’s chambers. Apparently there used to be a bakery there, but it had hardly been up a day before going out of business. The next day the venue was snapped up by a E. Aster Bunnymund, known to a select few as the Easter Bunny. Seriously, that was his real civilian name. E. Aster Bunnymund, Easter Bunny. Jack still got a kick out of it. Of course, he never called the man any of these things; he preferred endearing nick names such as Cottontail, Thumper, and Kangaroo. He didn’t think Aster enjoyed them as much.

Usually Jack would like nothing more than to use this half hour to bug the living daylights out of that bunny, but he was currently activating his talent at being invisible. According to Baby Tooth he wasn’t even on the Guardian’s radar, he didn’t want the Kangaroo to sight him and suddenly get wise. No, it would be best if he remained unnoticed by that particular group. For now anyways, he had no delusion that his anonymity would last forever.

He shifted back onto his heels with a sigh, fiddling with the buttons of his coat. He was wearing the new outfit again; he’d even washed it even though it didn’t really need it if you asked him. The clothes were fine. Still, he wanted to look his best for the case, just to be safe. He’d even showered before coming. It was amazing how empty High School locker rooms were in the middle of first period. He’d opted to leave his backpack in his usual hiding place, though this time his staff was still clutched in his hands. He didn’t care how stupid it looked, sometimes you just needed a security blanket. Plus he’d woken to a throbbing ankle. Of course, that was probably more psychosomatic nerves than actual pain, but that was beside the point.

The teen sighed and checked his watch. Ten minutes left to go before the arranged meeting time, but if he pegged Neal and Peter right then they should be here any minute. A smirk played at his lips as he caught sight of the two walking down the street to the courthouse. Called it. He jogged over to the two, smiling as he went. “Hey.”

“You’re here early.” Peter remarked in surprise.

The teen shrugged, attempting to throw off any nerves with the casual movement. “My morning cleared.”

“Lucky for us.” Neal replied wryly, though a grin played at his lips. Peter nodded before moving to enter the building.

“It’s a good thing you got here early, I think Bryson would have killed you if you showed five minutes late.”

“Yeah, yeah. Your lawyer doesn’t like me, I get it.” The teen responded with a roll of his eyes, following in behind Neal. His eyes roamed the walls of the building, taking in the art, architecture, and possible escape attempts. You know, just in case.

He recognized Bryson right away as the man pouring over notes in the bench in front of the court. The lawyer looked up when the trip neared his table, smiling at Jack though it didn’t reach his harried eyes. The teen didn’t say anything as the man rapidly gave him the rundown of the case and Jack dutifully promised to behave. Of course, the speech didn’t prepare him of the absolute monotony of the trial and it was only ten minutes in before he found himself squirming in his seat almost groaning in frustrated boredom.

Finally all of the ceremony and tradition was completed and the defense attorney made the accusation that the crucial evidence was found using illegal means. Jack immediately perked to interest, only to slump down once more as the man continued to speak, explaining, in no uncertain terms, something or other to the court. Jack closed his eyes and fingered his staff, creaking one eye open again when Bryson started to talk, only to slip closed again when he called Peter to the stand. He listened idly with slipping attention as Peter told his story of events, interest peaking slightly as the defense attorney objected to say that neither the agent nor his CI were viable witnesses for the case, only to fall again as Bryson continued with the questioning. As such, he was nearly asleep when the words broke through the haze of his mind.

“- next witness to the stand, Jackson Frost.”

The teen had just enough time to think to himself ‘ooh Jackson, fancy’, before jumping to his feet as though he’d been paying attention the whole time. He rose to his feet and made his way to the stand as the man continued to speak, explaining to the court that Jack had been granted immunity for the events included in his testimony. He sat down stiffly in the chair at the stand, eyes roving furiously. Finally he closed his eyes and sighed, and as the air flowed out of his noes all tension left his body until he seemed completely at ease, an actor on a stage, a conman playing his mark. He met the eyes of the only two in the room he recognized. Neal was smiling in approval while Peter watched him sternly, two very different reactions to him hiding his emotions. However, his thoughts were broken as a bible was thrust under his right hand and he realized he’d been daydreaming again.

“-whole truth and nothing but the truth?” Bryson asked, looking to Jack expectantly. Oh crap. Maybe he should have paid more attention when Peter was being sworn in, was there a special response he was supposed to give or something?

“I do?” He offered, and it seemed to be enough as the man nodded and took away the book.

“Please state your name and occupation to the court.”

“Jack Fr- Jackson Frost. I- uh, I dunno thief?” He answered uncertainly, setting off a string of murmurs along the jury and those watching. The prosecutor sighed.

“Student is an acceptable response.”

“I don’t go to school.”

The judge frowned and leaned over. “Are you homeschooled?”

“No.”

“Do you have any form of education?”

“No.”

The judge frowned, clearly unhappy with the answers. “As a minor are your guardians present here today?”

Jack tensed visibly at the word guardian before he realized that the man was talking about a parent. “No.” He answered simply, worried about what would happen if he confessed that he was truly alone.

“Your honor,” Bryson interrupted with a slightly nervous air, “This line of questioning does not pertain to the case.”

The judge shot him a glare. “I have on my witness stand a young man with no guardian present, no attendance to any form of education, who thinks himself a thief. I will continue my interrogation. Now-“

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Jack interrupted, waving his hands for emphasis with a scowl on his lips. “I agreed to come here to testify, not get the third degree on my personal life. I say we either get on with it or I’m out of here.”

The judge frowned at him. “If you attempt to leave the stand without dismissal you will be held in contempt of the court.”

“Like you could catch me.” Jack scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest to hide the white-knuckled grip on his staff. Peter was giving him a stern glare, lips pursed tersely while Neal watched him with equal parts understanding and exasperation. Jack was freaked out, completely out of control and attempting to feel on top any way he could. He hadn’t signed up for this, thought he could just say his piece and go. But if the judge’s line of inquiry continued, it could get into nasty territory fast, and he didn’t want child services at the front of the court doors when he tried to leave. The judge and lawyer meanwhile, weren’t sure what to do. They had both dealt with hostile witnesses before, but not one who was so flippant about being held in contempt. Finally, Bryson cleared his throat.

“Your honor? Permission to question the witness?”

“Permission granted.” The man said after a moment of silence and the teen visibly relaxed.

“Jackson, is it true that you were the one who gave receipts to Agent Peter Burke?”

“Technically I gave it to Mrs. Elizabeth Burke, but I asked her to give it to him, so yeah.”

“And how exactly did you come to obtain the vital evidence?”

“Huh?” The boy asked, tilting his head at the lofty words. “You mean how did I get it?”

“Yes.” Bryson said through gritted teeth.

“It was in the guys’ wallet when I swiped it.”

“So it was in a wallet you stole.”

“Yeah.”

“And why did you steal his wallet?”

“Uh, for money?” Jack responded, eyeing the lawyer like he was an idiot.

“So you stole the wallet only for the conventional purpose of getting money, is that correct? Neither Agent Peter Burke nor Mr. Neal Caffrey enticed you to steal it for the purpose of gaining evidence.”

“What? No, of course not.” The teen responded, understanding dawning on his face. “I didn’t even meet them until after I stole it.”

“So you stole the wallet, with the receipts inside with no knowledge of who the defendant was or what he had, met Agent Burke and Mr. Cafferey for the first time, and later discovered the evidence and decided to turn it in, correct?”

“Yep. Er, that is correct.” The teen said with a nod.

The lawyer nodded at the judge before moving to sit down. The judge continued to eye Jack as the teen squirmed in his seat. “So am I done now or-“

“You may now cross examine the witness.” The judge interrupted, turning to the defense attorney.”

The man nodded before coming up to Jack, and the white haired boy felt dread pooling up in his stomach once more. He’d really been hoping he was done. Maybe next time he would actually agree to be briefed for something like this. Not that there would be a next time.

“Mr. Frost,” The lawyer began and Jack’s nose scrunched at the oddness of the title. “It seems to me that it was a very nice coincidence that you just happened to meet Agent Burke right after stealing vital information for one of his open cases. What, did you meet on the street and happen to strike up a conversation, all just coincidentally.”

“It wasn’t a coincidence. He and Neal caught me stealing the wallets and made me give them back to them.”

“Interesting. So how did you end up giving the wallets to Mrs. Burke? If you had to give the wallets, and therefore the receipt, back to the agents who should not have been looking through the stolen property? Seems like a convenient way to get around that little rule.”

“I gave them back the wallets, I kept the money. The receipts were folded inside a wad of cash.”

“So Agent Burke and Mr. Cafferey managed to catch you and were able to get the wallets back, but couldn’t keep you from running away with the cash and evidence you conveniently returned to them later.”

Jack frowned. “It wasn’t their fault, I was on the fire escape.”

The attorney blinked twice, confusion written on his face. “You were on the fire escape?” He asked slowly, brows knit together.

Jack nodded. “Yeah, they had me cornered in an alley but I jumped onto the fire escape from the dumpster and gave them back the wallets. But not the cash.” The teen added as an afterthought. 

The man blinked slowly. “I see… And um, what then prompted you to read the receipts? Seems like an odd thing to do for someone who just stole-”

“It’s just a habit I have.” The boy interrupted, irritation leaking into his voice from the seemingly inane questions attempting to back him into a corner. “Like a hobby, I always read the receipts. I thought it looked suspicious and decided to give it to Mrs. Burke.”

The man nodded, seeming to lose steam before his head snapped up and he seemed to come to a realization. “How did you know where Agent Burke lived?”

“From the ID I found in his wallet.” The boy said matter-of-factly, driving the courtroom into a confused silence once more. The boy let out an exaggerated groan, tired of the proceedings and longing to get off the bench, out of the building, and into the fresh air to play with the snow he could see falling slowly past the windows. He was starting to remember why he never spent time indoors. He didn’t like the lawyer either, all this prodding and poking and distrustfulness. The whole thing had started off bad enough with the judge, and it had just gone downhill from there. He was done.

“Alright look, I was pick pocketing, stole this guy’s wallet along with a dozen others, grabbed Peter and Neal’s wallets, got caught, they drug me into an alley and made me give them their wallets back. I snuck a peak at his license to get a name, escaped, gave back the wallets, pocketed the cash, read the receipts over lunch, found the evidence, and brought it to the address I saw on the license. That enough of a recap for ya?” He finished, crossing his arms over his chest.

The defense attorney’s open mouthed surprise quickly shifted into a grimace as he realized he had no holes in the story to poke and prod at. Finally he grit his teeth. “No further questions, your honor.”

“Finally.” Jack sighed, and made to stand, watching the judge as he did so to make sure he wasn’t doing anything wrong. However, the man’s eyes never left the boy even as Jack resumed his spot on the pew.

The man cleared his throat. “Ten minute recess.” He said as he brought down his gavel before gesturing to a couple of men to come up to speak with him.

Jack was the first one out the door, Neal and Peter close behind, though they got lost for a moment within the crowds flooding the aisles. By the time they made it out Jack was crouched on the ground on the balls of his feet, staff resting across his waist. His face was pointing to the sky, painted in the crystalline snow. One cerulean eye opened as the two neared and Jack sighed.

“Sorry,” He mumbled. “I messed that up pretty bad didn’t I? Probably should have figured out some way to meet with your lawyer before today. Sorry.” 

“You said what you had to, that’s the important thing.” Peter responded. “I’m not saying you handled it the best way possible, but the case is ours. It was fine.”

“Well then,” Neal said as he pulled Jack to his feet. “We should celebrate before court resumes.”

Jack scoffs. “I’m not going back in there. You know as well as I do that the Judge is calling child services as we speak.”

Peter frowned. “Is that such a-“

“Not happening.” Jack responded with a growl. It was bad enough going in as a runaway without a past, being a confirmed thief would make it unlivable. Peter held up his hands in surrender, but the exchange had lasted long enough for Jack not to realize that Neal was ushering him into the chocolate shop he had tried so hard to avoid coming in. Crap. Oh well, no way to get out of this now without creating a scene, and that would just show everyone that he had something to hide. Making a split second decision the boy let a smile light up his face.

“Sup Kangaroo!” He called, to the man standing bent over a tray of cooling caramels, his back to the door. The man immediately spun, a growl deep in his throat.

“Frostbite! I told you the last time you showed your mug around here, yer not welcome ‘round here anymore. You ain’t gettin’ any more freebies from me. Not after the incident of 68.”

“Oh come on,” Jack responded as he leaped to spy on the treats behind the glass. “You aren’t still mad about that are you?”

The man growled deeply. “Of course I am, it was the day before Easter fer crying out loud and-“

“He’s the guy from your story!” Neal said, enthused.

His voice brought Bunnymund up short as the man spied the two behind Jack for the first time. Jack responded to the surprise with a grin. “Besides Cottontail, I’m not looking for freebies today, treats are on them. Can I get a white chocolate egg?” He asked, pointing to the large candies filled with glorious and mysterious filling, no two completely the same. “Ohh, and some peppermint bark.” 

Bunnymund glowered at the boy but began packing up the treats as the boy picked them out, getting two more treats before one of the men said that four was plenty. Surprisingly, Jack didn’t even attempt to argue, only snatching the dessert from Aster’s hand as the other two picked up chocolates of their own. Aster glared at the boy as he wrapped up the treats, an idea he couldn’t name trickling along the back of his head. However, he lightened the look when Neal came up to pay, shooting a look at the teen as he took the money.

“Look, I dunno what business you have with Frost, but I suggest you take your losses and leave.”

“Excuse me?”

“Kid’s nothing but trouble. Never seen him do anything but mess things up. Trust me, you don’t want ‘im stickin’ around. Sooner or later it’ll all blow ta pieces. It’s just what happens ‘round him. ‘e can’t be trusted.”

Jack glared heatedly at the man, anger shining in his dampening eyes. The boy growled and spun, stalking from the store and not turning back even as Neal followed after him, yelling Jack’s name. Peter stayed where he was, snatching Neal’s change out of the man’s hand with a speed found only in fury. He could think of no words, be they in chastisement, threat, or anger, to truly show his anger, so he settled with a promise that would fly far short of his mark.

“Don’t be expecting any calls from Burke’s event planning any time soon. Or ever.” He snarled and left. Neal was standing a few feet from the entrance, eyeing the crowds with hopeful but non-expectant eyes. “Gone?”

“Like Frost in the sun.” The CI answered.

“You gonna look for him?”

“Of course. You never passed on Elizabeth’s message, after all. I don’t want you to be sleeping with Satchmo tonight. It always makes you grumpy.” 

“Uh huh. You think you know where to fine him?”

“I’ve got a few ideas.” Neal smiled and picked up his cell as Peter made his way back into the courtroom. “Hey Mozz, where are you?”

“Did you not read my message in the classifieds? Obviously I am waiting in the park from 11:53 to 2:19 for someone to interpret it and respond.”

“Of course. Sorry.” Neal replied with a roll of his eyes. “Look, call if you see Jack. We had a run in with someone who wasn’t exactly a fan and he disappeared.”

“Is he hurt?”

“Not physically. Look, just keep an eye out, I’m going to Nolan’s to look there.”

“Of course.”

_____________________________________________

Inside the sweet’s shop, the agent’s last words were swirling around Bunnymund’s head. ‘Don’t be expecting any calls from Burke’s event planning any time soon.’ He recognized that name from somewhere. “Burke…” He whispered to himself before suddenly standing, hands slamming against the table in shock. Nearly leaping through the door to the back room, he rushed for his cell phone, punching in the first number on speed dial. 

“North. I know our snitch.”


	11. A Yellow Wood

Neal found Jack exactly where he thought the teen would be, at the center of Nolan’s children park. He and Mozzie had both seen the boy there before, playing with the children or just watching. It seemed like the closest thing to a home he had. Emotionally at least. Neal sent a quick text to Mozzie and Peter as he neared, writing it as soon as he identified the shock of white hair above the grey coat. He smiled softly as he eyed the area surrounding the park, the only place in town without small mounds of snow lining the sidewalks. Of course, that had less to do with the plows and crowds, and much more to do with the series of mounds and piles Jack was forming all over the park, taking from the embankments so that there was more snow around the park to make the snowballs he formed along each small hill.

            “What’s all this?” Neal asked as he came up beside the boy, forming a snowball himself.

            “Oh, you know, I’m just messing up the park with my snowball fight arena.” He said with a wry smile, a sarcastic smile on his face blocking out any true emotion.

            Neal smiled softly as he knelt to pack another ball of the icy powder. “Well, I hear that some people like a little chaos, kids especially. It makes things a more exciting.”

            Jack jerked his head up in surprise for a second before smiling and chuckled softly as he shaped the wall of the mound a little more firmly. “I don’t know why you followed me, but if it was to drag me back to that courtroom it isn’t happening, sorry.”

            “Nah. I mostly came to make sure you didn’t get a stomach ache from that candy. Anything a jerk like that makes has to be pretty sour.”

            Jack looked up in surprise, eyeing the man uncertainly for a moment before a grin suddenly stole across his face. “Thanks.”

            “You know,” Neal began hesitantly, thinking back on the eggs that decorated the chocolate shop, some incredibly intricate and artistic. “He seemed to like spring a lot, and he has some pretty nice artistic skills. Seemed to know you pretty well too, better than from just that one story. It makes me wonder if-“

            Neal was interrupted as Jack burst into peals of raucous laughter. “Oh man!” He managed to get out between laughs. “You- you really think _he_ is a- oh man!”

            The CI looked to the boy, surprised by the laughter. Even if he was wrong, he didn’t think it was that funny. Jack, seeing his confusion, stifled his giggles somewhat. “No, you don’t understand-“ He managed to say before laughing again. “His- his name is E. Aster Bunnymund! E. Aster! It spells Easter! He’s literally Easter Bunnymund. And- and he works in a candy shop, and- oh man, you’re right it’s too perfect!” He laughed again, though the giggles were becoming more subdued. He let out one final sigh before leaning against his snowy creation for breath. “Seriously though, could you really see a guy like that stealing and committing crimes all to help children everywhere?” His last words sounded with a high pitch, mocking voice as he rolled his eyes. The boy eyed the man warily, hoping that the bluff paid off. Technically he never actually said that Bunnymund wasn’t a Guardian. Hopefully Neal wouldn’t notice.

            “I suppose not.” The man said, eyeing Jack as he remembered the man’s open hostility. After all, Jack was still just a kid himself, and one in a pretty precarious situation. Neal liked to think that the vigilantes would have more concern for the boy than that. Though in all honesty he couldn’t be sure. Jack had asked to keep his name out of any documents after all. “Speaking of, do you think the Guardians know we’re onto them yet?”

            “Oh yeah. They’re all in a tizzy about it. I’d start plugging up my chimney if I were you. Luckily, I’m still below their radar.” Well, probably not anymore.

            Neal nodded, brushing numb hands against his slacks. “I’ve also come to bring a message.”

            “Oh?”

            “Elizabeth says you’re welcome to come over any time.”

            “Really?” Jack asked, surprised.

            “Yep. She had fun the other night. We all did.”

            Jack eyed him for a moment, almost as though searching his eyes for deceit. Finally he nodded. “Sounds good.” Suddenly he looked to his watch and jumped to his feet, making his way to a bench at the side of the park, Neal following behind.

            The conman continued to watch the boy. “We do need a better way to contact you though. I’m not going to draw a snowflake every time I want to ask about a dinner party.”

            Jack chuckled softly, plopping himself down onto the bench. “You can find me here almost every day. Same time, same place.”

            Neal looked down to his watch. 3:36. “Why do you-“ The man’s question broke off as a squeal sounded behind him, preceding a large group of children rushing the park after a hard day at school, all mobbing each other for the choice hills and covers, screaming and squealing as snowballs started to fly. Neal looked down to a grinning Jack and sat down next to the boy. They were still and silent as they sat, watching the children take in the fruits of their labor. After a while Jack poked him in the arm and gestured to where a little girl sat shyly playing on her own. He scooped down and began to ball the snow. All it took was one well aimed toss and the girl was in the thrall as well, crying out childish revenge on the mysterious thrower.

            Neal chuckled softly as he watched, but only said one thing the entire time they sat. “This place doesn’t look messed up to me.” Jack didn’t reply, but he relaxed into his seat, letting go of a tension Neal didn’t know he held onto. Finally Neal knew that he had to get back to the office before questions started flying. He stood, looking at the boy who still sat curled around himself on the bench. “That message from Elizabeth? I just want you to know it comes from me too. Any time you’re in the neighborhood and need anything, food, a warm room, just someone to talk to… well, just know that my terrace doors are always unlocked.”

            “…thanks.”

* * *

 

Bunnymund was practically sparking with irritation and impatience as he paced along the great room, oblivious to the nervous looks one of Tooth’s girls repeatedly shot at him. North watched the man with nervous, wary eyes. “Calm down Bunny! They will be here soon, it is best to wait.”

            The man growled but stopped his pacing, tapping his foot in nervous energy anyway. North sighed, feeling relieved when Sandy finally came into the room, all smiles and yawns as usual. Tooth was far behind, practically flying into the room on the man’s heels.

            “Finally.” The man said, shooting right to the chase. “Jack Frost sold us out to the Feds.”

            Gasps filled the room, both from the guardians and their workers who littered the great room. In the midst of the surprise, no one noticed that one girl winced, looking pained rather than shocked at the revelation.

            “Are you sure, Bunny?” Tooth asked, her purple eyes wide.

            The man nodded vehemently. “’e and that Burke fellow came into my shop, they were really chummy too. Another guy was with ‘em. Coulda been Cafferey.”

            The woman gasped. “Did they try to arrest you?”

            That made the man pause. “Nah, didn’t seem to know who I am.”

            “None of the information the FBI has includes names.” A young tooth spoke up. Baby didn’t know if she wanted to hug or kill her sister. “They don’t know who we are.”

            North began nodding speculatively. “It makes sense. Jack is the only one who knows that much about us. The only one we did not ask.”

            “What do we do now?” Tooth asked, her eyes wide and worried. For a moment there was silence, none sure what they should do about the revelation. When they had first discovered the skinny boy poking around their headquarters, at first they had planned to send him off with a scolding and a light warning, but when they discovered exactly how much he knew, they knew they couldn’t let him go so easily. He was forced away with a nearly unending string of outrageous threats that both parties knew would neither be acted upon, and the boy swore up and down that he could keep their secret. Jack had seemed very earnest at the time and had indeed kept quiet for nearly three years, but the Guardians couldn’t say that they were completely surprised that he had a price.

            But now their secret was out and Jack was still roaming the streets. No one was really sure what to do, they were thieves and hackers not kidnappers and murderers, but they knew something had to be done, lest Jack’s price be matched by someone worse.

            Bunnymund growled. “We never shoulda let him go in the first place.”

            “What would you have us do? Keep him prisoner?”

            “We only have two options left now and that’s one of them. I ain’t too keen on the other option.”

            Silence sounded for a moment before the room erupted into noise, each guardian, yeti, elf, sentential, and tooth calling out for attention and offering other plans, other methods of keeping Jack quiet without actually hurting the boy. They were guardians after all, they couldn’t hurt a kid, especially one such as Jack who had done no wrong greater than they themselves had been considering. In the midst of the noise, only the short, mute Sandman noticed when a cell phone sitting on a near-pedestal at the base of the computer started to light up and buzz. The phone was ever plugged in and charging, always ready and waiting for a text or call from the man who had sent it to them. The man that had called them all together. The Man in the Moon.

            The Sandman waddled over, gripping the screen with wide eyes as he saw the picture on the screen, Manny had many different phones he used to tell the Guardians different things, but this was the most rare. In fact, the light blue crystal emblazoned onto a ‘G’ had only ever been on the screen four times before. Once for Sandy, once for North, once for Tooth, and once for Bunnymund. The Man in the Moon was calling for another guardian.

            Sandy whirled to the group, his eyes wide and an expression of pure amazement and joy on his face, but no one noticed. The Guardians and their helpers were all yelling and arguing to one another, not a single one paying any mind to the mute man attempting to get their attention. Finally the blonde sighed, reaching into his satchel to pull out the Fog Horn that always sat inside.

            “EEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!”

            All other sounds stopped as the horn ripped through the air, mouths immediately snapping shut as people grimaced and held their hand over their ears. As soon as the blast of sound stopped all eyes were drawn to the squat man, watching as he held up the phone with a disapproving pout on his face. All eyes widened as they saw the phone.

            “Ah!” North exclaimed. “Is Man in the Moon! Sandy, why didn’t you say something.” The short blonde glowered as the bearded man looked to the phone. “He will know what to do.” His grin only widened when he saw the ID picture on the screen. “A new Guardian! Oh good. Manny will find someone to solve Jack problem.”

 

            Baby Tooth felt a lead weight fall into her stomach, a sinking suspicion in her mind. There was no way. Manny wouldn’t, would he?

            The group crowded around as the man flipped up the old-fashioned flip phone sent to them years ago when they style was still new. Silence rang as the group read and processed the four words on the screen, Baby Tooth’s horrible suspicion confirmed.

            **JACK FROST: FBI CONSULTANT**

            There was a moment of tense silence before one of the yetis mumbled. “Well, I guess that could work.”

            “It could work?” Bunnymund shouted, his voice sarcastic, flabbergasted, and irate all at once. “Did you forget who we are? Why we do what we do? And you think he could work? Jack Frost! He doesn’t care about children! All he does is pick pockets, hand out tips to the gangs, and pull pranks! All right? He’s an irresponsible, selfish-“

            “Guardian.” Santa interjected musingly and Baby Tooth almost wanted to groan aloud. This wasn’t happening. It just wasn’t. There was no way, Jack would never agree with this.

            “Jack Frost is many things, but he is not a Guardian!”

* * *

 

Jack grinned as he packed the snow just _one more time_ on the bump he’d made at the bottom of the large hill. It had snowed all night long, a light, puffy snow, and since he had decided to stay away from the park at any time of day other than when he told Neal he’d be there, the sledding hill was the place to be. Of course, nobody was there yet. Jack had found the little gem just the night before, lurking through town in attempt to find a place to spend the chilly night away from any prying Guardian eyes. He hadn’t really found anything he liked, and actually ended up sneaking into Neal’s place. Not that the man would know. Jack had snuck in well after the man had fallen asleep and left just as he was stirring.

            The hill was a lucky find though, and he intended to use it. He sat back on his heels with a content huff, surveying the awesome obstacle course he had made into the four inch high powder. He climbed back up the incline and sat back on his new sled, a grin lighting up his face. If this worked, it would be the most amazing ride of his life. If not, he would be walking away with at least two broken limbs. He set off at a run and flopped belly down onto the metal and wood. With a mighty whoop he flew through the course, coasting over huge bumps and nearly falling out of the sled as it slid sideways. Finally the ride ended, Jack crashing into a soft, powdery pile of snow with a final burst of air.

            Jack pulled himself out of the pile with a breathless laugh. Perfect, now that’s what he called fun. He pulled up the string of the sled and began lugging it to the park. The teen couldn’t help but smile when he saw his favorite group using his mounds from the night before to have another snowball right. He quickly tied a letter onto the rope handle of the sleigh, and with a gentle push slid it until it brushed against Jamie’s leg.

            “Huh?” The boy mumbled as he glanced for the sleds origin. His gaze ghosted over Jack as though he were a simple ornament in the park, like a bench or a tree. Slowly the boy looked to the paper, eyes travelling over the map and direction. His friends soon crowded around, all curious to see the mysterious note. Jack watched as the group debated following the map, Cupcake and the twins all for it, while Pippa and Monty thought it was too suspicious, Jamie undecided. Jack moved to wait near his set up, knowing that despite the debate, the children would arrive any minute.

            Sure enough it wasn’t long before he heard their cheery voices sounding behind him, Monty still advising against it but Pippa and Jamie both sounding significantly more excited. He grinned as he leaned back on his perch against a nearby wall, listening to the gasps of the children as they came upon the scene Jack had spent all morning and half the afternoon on. All clamored to go first, eager to try out the new game. However, Jamie, who still had the sled, was the one voted to go first. The boy let out a loud whoop as he started down, a shrill shriek of excitement slipping loose as he went over the first bump, getting almost twice as much air as Jack had ever managed. The group yelled and cheered as the boy flew down the course, taking the twist, turns, and bumps like a pro. Finally with a yelp the boy flew through the air, losing his grip on the sled as he landed face first into Jack’s smooth landing fluff. The six remaining children cheered and charged down the hill, pulling their friend from the drift. Jamie was grinning like a madman as he was pulled out.

            “That was amazing!” He crowed, eyes wild. “Look, I even lost a tooth.”

            “No way!”

            “Sweet cash!”

            “Tooth Fairy’ll come tonight.”

            Jack nearly snarled as the loss of one measly tooth distracted from the fun he had spent hours creating, his anger growing as the kids began rushing off to show off the tooth to the boy’s parents.

            “What does it take to be noticed around here?” Jack mumbled, but of course nobody answered. No one ever did. However, as he passed, Jack could almost swear Jamie looked back to him questioningly, before the boy met up with his friends to discuss the possibility of the Tooth Fairy helping him find a yeti.

            Jack shrugged, trying to brush of his disappointment as he thumbed through the cash in his wallet, trying to decide if he had enough money to buy another sleigh to give to one of the other groups in the park, but he knew few to none of them were adventurous enough to follow a mysterious map across the city. He began making his way downtown, yawning as he tried to decide where to sleep that night. He began making his way to a cheap hotel, planning to get a place warm, dry, and comfortable, but as he looked up he saw the flash of a white beard laying over tattoos and promptly turned around, disappearing into the crowd as was his specialty. Well, seemed that this part of town was a no go. He wouldn’t risk going within twenty feet to Baby Tooth at the moment, let alone any of the others. Looked like he’d have to find a new place to rest his head for the night. Probably be best not to stay in one place multiple nights either just in case.

            He groaned. If he had though it through at all, he never would have agreed to Baby Tooth’s plan. A wry snuck up Jack’s lips as he scoffed at his own thoughts. Yeah right, he would have said yes anyways.


	12. Reluctance

“He said he always comes here around this time.” Neal said to calm the pacing Mozzie as the bald man eyed the children’s park once more.

            “Yes, but that was before he disappeared. I haven’t heard a hint of him in weeks.”

            “Yes, because you heared so much about him for the past three years.”

            “It’s not the same. Now I’m actually looking and he’s disappeared. Right after ratting out one of the best secret crime organizations in New York, I might add.”

            “You’re overreacting. He sleeps on my couch at least once a week. The other day he even took some of my leftovers out of the fridge.”

            “Yes, but you never see him, do you? He’s always gone before you wake up.”

            “Mozz-“

            “What if, he was captured by these Guardians long ago and they send someone to your house every few nights to keep us from getting suspicious.”

            “They send a random person to sleep on my couch and raid my fridge.”

            “Wouldn’t be the strangest cover up I’d heard of. Did you hear about the alien landing in Virginia where-“

            Mozzie was cut off as a kickball flew into his bald head, a group of children rushing up for the ball. “Sorry sir!” one of them calls out as the criminal tosses them back the red rubber sphere.

            “I’m fine.” He answers as the kids call their thanks, resuming their old conversation as they kick the ball between them.

            “I’m telling you guys it’s weird.” A blonde with glasses says. “Like something’s different and I don’t know what.”

            “I know what you mean,” the tall, skinny girl answers. “I can’t figure it out. Maybe they planted a new tree or something.”

            “Or got rid of a toy,” One of the twins responds, the conversation dissolving as the group makes their way onto the makeshift kickball court.

            Mozzie watched the group a little fondly, only looking up when he heard a sharp intake of breath from his taller friend. “There he is.”

            Jack appeared, seemingly from nowhere, eyeing both sides of the park as he unobtrusively made his way to the bench where he told Neal he would be. Mozzie took a step closer to the boy before stopping. “He looks... scared.” And he did. Jack’s eyes were constantly tracing the park, his face paling as he caught sight of a pair of men constantly searching through the playground. He turned, as if to leave, but before he could move Neal stepped forward. “Hey,” he called jovially, making sure not to call out Jack’s name.

            The teen’s head shot up and he met Neal’s eyes, unfortunately, the call brought the attention of the two burly men as well, and the large pair took a step towards the homeless teen before the boy made it to Neal. The men looked between the three before taking a step or two back, still watching Jack seriously even as he met up with the two criminals.

            “Hey.” The teen said with a grin, still watching the two large men out of the corner of his eye.

            “Haven’t seen you around much.” Neal said softly, eyeing the fearsome looking pair as well.

            Jack shrugged. “You know how it is, just like to wander a little.”

            “And I suppose right now isn’t a bad time to lay low.” Mozzie responded, glancing at the unnerving men.

            Jack just shrugs, and for a moment there is silence before Neal turns. “Follow me, I think this place is getting a little stuffy for my tastes.”

            Jack nodded and followed, but continued to watch the two Yetis watching him. They were everywhere lately. Jack felt like he couldn’t go two feet without running into a yeti, tooth, or sentinel, and he hadn’t dared to go within a hundred feet of the chocolate shop, toy store, library, or photo gallery that the Guardians owned. In conclusion, for the last week he’d been nothing but _bored_. He hadn’t even risked going to his usual meeting place with Baby Tooth, just in case. As he watched the men rose to their feet, following the three thieves as one of the large men picked up his cell phone. Neal suddenly sped up, looking to Mozzie questioningly.

            “Vapor swipe?” The bald man suggested and Neal nodded, pulling out his phone.

            “What what?” Jack asked, looked at the two in bewilderment.

            “Just pay attention kid,” Mozzie answered. “You might learn something.”

            For Jack, the next few minutes were a blur of action and movement, jumping into perfectly times taxis and rushing through alleyways. Finally they somehow ended up sitting in the back corner of a restaurant, far from the windows but right next to the emergency exit. Jack blinked in confusion, eyeing the menu and desperately attempting to figure out how on earth he’d gotten there. “So, I take it you’ve done this before.”

            “Maybe once or twice.” Neal responded with a grin.

            Jack smiled. “What’s up?”

            “I want to hire you for a job.” Mozzie said quickly.

            “What kinda job?” Jack asked interestedly.

            “You’ve shown some skills in sleight of hand, but how would you like to help me out with a heist at DeBeers?”

            Jack perked with interest. He didn’t like to steal from stores and stuff really, but it would be nice to work with Mozzie, to work with anyone and be part of a team. Then he deflated with a pout. That place was only a few stores down from FAO Schwarz, North’s toyshop. He sighed. “I kinda need to avoid 5th avenue for a while.” He mumbled. “Sorry.”

            Mozzie deflated as well before shrugging. “Eh, what are you gonna do? Next time though, right?”

            “If I can.”

            “Speaking of things to be avoided,” Neal cut in. “I’m gonna go on a limb here and guess that the pair in the park weren’t looking for you to buy your ‘Fun Flakes’.”

            Jack shrugged. “We knew the Guardians would figure it out eventually. Hopefully they’ll ease up a bit soon. They’re everywhere now.”

            “Is that why you’ve taken residence on Neal’s couch?” Mozzie asked, and Neal glared at him sharply.

            “I offered it to him Mozz.”

            “No, he’s right. Usually I woulda waited a couple of weeks to take you up on that, but somehow they figured out all of my winter haunts. Really they know about your place too, but they wouldn’t dare go after me while I was there.”

            “Why not?”

            “They know you guys don’t have any names or faces yet. They aren’t going to jeopardize that. Plus, it’s a little too populated for a kidnapping.”

            “What would they do to you if they caught you?” Neal asked, wondering if he had to completely reshape his view of the vigilante group.

            Jack shrugged, looking down nervously and fiddling with the drawstring of his hoodie. “I have no clue.” He admitted as their food finally arrived. “I think that’s what freaks me out more than anything. I mean, they obviously can’t just let it go, but they aren’t exactly the type to just off someone or hold them prisoner or something. Maybe they’ll ship me off to a foreign country or something. Somewhere I don’t know the language and couldn’t get back. I think Santa has family in Russia.” Neal rolled his eyes and Jack shrugged once more. “What? It’s the only thing I can think of.”

            Neal shook his head. “Anyway, Guardians and theft aside, have you checked the radar recently?”

            “Wow, are we really so far gone that we’ve resorted to talks about the weather?”

            “A big blizzard is brewing.” The criminal continued, ignoring the teen. “A really big one, predicted to come in Thursday with temperatures going into the negatives.”

            “So…”

            “So you won’t survive it sleeping in abandoned buildings and storage lockers. Peter’s following a big lead in a case so he couldn’t show, but he wanted me to let you know that the Burkes have an open spare room, and Elizabeth is preparing a taco bar for dinner that night and wanted to try out a new waffle recipe in the morning.”

            Jack sat up, his eyes comically wide. “OMG! Am I, like, getting invited to a sleepover?” He exclaimed in a high pitch voice, fluttering his eyelashes. The two men across from him startled at the quick exclamation before rolling their eyes and letting out an amused huff of air as Jack chuckled. “What the hey? I’m in. Save me a couple of bucks on a motel room and chow. I’d love to come over.” He grinned, hoping he’d played it off enough that the two wouldn’t be able to sense the warm tendril of delight curling up his chest.

            “Great.” Neal said with a grin, Mozzie smiling up at the boy as well. “So, any more Guardian information I could try and play for.”

            Jack shrugged, eyes moving rapidly as though in thought. “Only that one of them just came in and has been eyeing me for the past few minutes.”

            Neal and Mozzie whirled, but the nameless tooth shot her gaze to the menu as they looked her way, and by the time they had turned to ask Jack who it was, the boy was already gone.

* * *

 

      Peter sighed as he made his way to the coffee machine, the first break he’d had all day, and as soon as he was back to his desk he would have his nose against the grindstone once more. Neal slid up beside him.

            “Jack’s excited for Thursday.”

            “Great. Any clue why he’d been so hard to find?”

            “Guardians found him out. He’s laying low for a while. Can’t blame him. We found him in the park with two huge men following after him. They left when we came, but then another one found us when we took the kid out to eat.”

            “Did you get a good look at any of them?”

            “Sent two sketches of the two burly ones to Diana already. Didn’t catch who it was at the restaurant.”

            “She find anything?”

            “Nope. Whoever they are, they haven’t been arrested.”

            Peter sighed heavily, topping off his drink. “Great.”

            On the bright side, I’m fairly sure one of them works on 5th Avenue.”

            “That narrows it down.” Peter said sarcastically.    

            Neal smirked at his friend before changing the subject. “How’s your case coming along? Smuggler, right?”

            “It’s not. We don’t have enough evidence to catch him, and can’t find any in, either in his day job or night job. Only trusted friends get any action on the smuggler front, and his company only hires new once or twice a year. The only in I can see is through his kids, and they go to that same fancy-smancy school you got your literature debut in. And before you ask, no, they won’t let you back in as a guest teacher. With the amount they charge, they aren’t exactly eager to get any substitutes when it’s not absolutely necessary. So, that looks like a dead end as well.”

            Neal was silent for a moment, then “I think I may know someone who could fit into a high school pretty easily and unobtrusively.”

            “Neal, I know what you’re thinking and no.”

            “He could get close to the kids, get into their circle, maybe invited into their house…”

            “No. Not going to happen.”

            “We’ll see him later this week. He wouldn’t say no, I’m sure of it.”

            “Jack is not going to go undercover for this case. He has no idea of protocol, no training-”

            “And I do?”

            “It’s different. He’s a minor without so much as a next of kin. What if he gets into trouble? We probably wouldn’t be anywhere close enough to help.”

            “I think he’s had plenty of practice getting out of scrapes on his own. Look Peter, I’m worried about him. He can barely take two steps without hoards of people coming after him, where do you think he’s getting his money? His food? Eventually his hiding spots are going to run out and you know it. They won’t look for him at the school, and at least this way we know he’s getting one good meal. Maybe we could even insist that he stay with us while he’s working. And you can’t tell me that you don’t think he could pull this off. He’s on his way to becoming almost as good as me.”

            Peter rose an eyebrow at the man. “Almost?”

            Neal shrugged. “Think of it this way: imagine what it would be like chasing him in ten years if we don’t work with him now.”

            “I’ll talk to Hughes. If he gives the O.K, I’ll call the school and see if they’ll let us put him in to aid the investigation.”

            “If they give you grief just remind them that I never did get my paycheck for being a sub.”

* * *

 

Jack shivered despite his coat, smiling up at the snowflakes lightly descending from the air as he shifted the backpack on his back. Neal had been right, the blizzard was predicated to be a huge one with gale force winds and a minimum prediction of eight inches of snow. And New York was getting it easy. Further inland and away from the ocean it was even worse. School was already called off for the next day and there wasn’t a single gallon of milk or loaf of bread to be found in any of the nearby grocery stores.

            Truthfully, Jack had no clue what he would have done if the Burkes hadn’t offered their home to him for the night. Neal was right that he wouldn’t have made the night somewhere without heat, and last time he went to a motel he was woken in the middle of the night to a yeti halfway in his window. Apparently, the baby teeth had been observing hotel security cameras to find him. Jack was just lucky he was such a light sleeper. The man had been almost silent.

            The teen sighed unhappily. The guardians really were looking for him hard. Though, luckily they didn’t seem keen on just killing him so that was a plus. Still, Jack knew that they wouldn’t give up. He only had two options at this point, wait around and eventually get found or disappear from New York for good. The second option was the obvious choice but… leaving would mean cutting all ties with the few people he did know, it would be completely starting over and losing the small reputation he already had. More than that though, it would mean leaving behind everything that he knew. It would be giving up on ever breaching that impenetrable wall in his memory, completely losing his past. He couldn’t do that.

            Jack sighed; tracing pictures in the snow with the butt of his staff, suddenly, out of the corner of his eye he saw a black shadow sprint into an alleyway. The teen slowed his walk, eyes darting between the alley and the clear road that lead to the Burke’s house. They flicked back and forth again, debating, his curiosity at odds with self-preservation. However, as the small clang of rattling trash can sounded from the alley’s depths, he could no longer deny his curiosity and, with a firm grip on his staff and weapon, he stepped towards the brick chasm.

            As he reached the entrance he saw the shadow dart away once more, slashing out the other end of the alley and onto the opposite street. This time Jack didn’t hesitate, rushing after the mysterious darting figure as it continued to stay out of sight, rushing around corners and into deep shadows. Finally Jack followed it around a corner and stopped dead, at last able to see what he had been chasing. The pale teen’s heart beat loud and hard in his chest. There, leaning against a stoplight with the light pooling all around him, stood Bunnymund, idly playing with a his favorite boomerang.

            “Bunny!” Jack managed to exclaim around his dry mouth, somehow managing to sound upbeat as he took a step back. “Long time no see. About the other day, you aren’t really still mad about that egg thing, are you?”

            “Wha- o’ course I’m still mad!” The man exclaimed angrily, before his eyes flickered to something behind Jack. “But this is about something else.”

            “Wha-“ Jack began to turn but before he could a pair of muscular, hairy arms encircled his chest and pinned his arms to his sides. “Hey, lemme go-mmph!” His words were cut off as another pair of hands went to his head, one gripping the back of his skull to hold him still and another forcing a damp cloth over his mouth and nose. The boy struggled and fought against the restricting arms but as he breathed in through the material he felt his strength slipping from his body, falling into the ground into a world unknown.

            _No, no lemme- let me go_. He thought furiously, but his legs collapsed and he lay limp, only catching sight of a pair of large, mustachioed Yeti faces peering down at him before he lost the fight to keep his eyes open and succumbed to unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, quick POLL if you will!!!  
> You know by now of the plan to have Jack infiltrate the school, would you rather he stay at 
> 
> A. Neal's house, which would be cool because they would be all conman like and Mozzie could teach Jack stuffs and the house would kinda fit a little better for his cover. 
> 
> B. Peter's house where he has Elizabeth to fuss over him and can experience being part of a (semi) Normal family
> 
> C. Switch back and forth for some reason I cannot yet come up with but can if people really want it


	13. They Were Welcome to their Beleif

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who just finished High School! ME! Woo Hoo!!!!  
> Anyone who's going to Liberty University, I'll be seeing you soon!

  Elizabeth glanced at the clock nervously. “Are you sure you didn’t say any specific time?”

            “Positive.” Neal answered. “Calm down, it’ll be fine.”

            “He came half an hour ago last time. The food’s going to grow cold.”

            “He’ll be here.” Mozzie responded certainly. “He was really excited to come, trust me.”

            “But aren’t those… those people after him? What if he’s in trouble? What if helping you guys put him in danger?” There was no reply, only every eye turning to the window. “Oh Jack… please be alright.”

* * *

 

          

            “…ill asleep.”

            “I told you it was a bad idea! Just tie ‘im up I said but nooooooooooo. You had to use your chloroform.”

            “’e is slippery, you know that. I’m not sure we could have kept him.”

            Jack bit back a moan, working not to move as he attempted to figure out what had happened to him. However, he must not have done a good job, because suddenly a voice interrupted the bickering pair. “Shh! Guys I think he’s waking up.”

            Finally Jack groaned audibly, keeping his eyes closed against the rooms harsh light as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. Slowly blinking open his eyes, the teen finally managed to catch sight of his surroundings. His eyes grew wide when he saw that he was in the heart of the Guardian Base, Bunny, Sandy, North, and Tooth surrounding him with a seemingly infinite mob of lackeys behind them. He managed to recognize Baby Tooth in the front row, staring at him with wide eyes, before his gaze was torn back to the four impressive figures standing over his previously prone form.

            “Woooow.” He whispered, eyeing the new hideout. It was much nicer than the old warehouse, that was for sure.

            “Jack!” Santa boomed, reaching down one large hand to haul the boy up. “How are you feeling.”

            “Oh great.” He said with a sarcastic roll of an eye. “I just love getting drugged and kidnapped off the street.” He shook himself, pretending he had no clue why they had grabbed him. “So what did I do that was bad enough to get the big four together.”

            “You know what you did!” Aster interrupted with a snarl, anger in his eyes. “I saw you with the beds and we know what you told them about us. You leaked all of our secrets to a pair of suits.”

            Jack had to stop himself from rolling his eyes, despite the seriousness of the situation. It was far from _all_ of their secrets. “So, what? Am I on the naughty list now or something?”

            “Ha!” North laughed. “If I had list, you would hold record.” Was it wrong that Jack felt a twinge of pride at that? “But it doesn’t matter now. We wipe the slate clean.”

            “Why?”

            “Because Jack, you are now Guardian!” The large man shouted, a large grin on his face as the group’s minor members cheered, the voice of every yeti, elf, sentential, and tooth forming a wall of cheer and joy. Well, all except Baby Tooth, who simply winced and shot Jack a look of apology as the large group began to crowd around him.  

            Unfortunately, no one else seemed to share her mood, nor notice Jack’s increasing confusion and discomfort. However, as North began a speech on the duties and jobs of a guardian, Jack’s confusion gave way to irritation and a scowl darkened his countenance. Quick as a flash the boy spun, staff held up, and cleared a circle around him as the unsuspecting elves and yetis collapsed. With one final, powerful thrust he slammed his staff onto the circle of a nearby metal table, jumping onto it as all motion stopped with the resounding clang.

            “Who said I want to be a Guardian?” He snarled at the group of four. Silence rang out for a moment before North suddenly burst out laughing, though none of his three collaborators seemed to share his humor.

            “Of course you do!”

            “Uh, no. No I don’t. Look, I get where you’re coming from. One of those, now that you know I can either kill you or hire you things, right? Well look, I’m touched and all but no thanks. I’ve seen you guys work. You’re all hard work and deadlines, and I’m just snowballs and fun times. It wouldn’t work out.”

           “But Jack, you would be our perfect informant to the FBI. You could tell them about Pitch, his movements, his plans. Everything.” The Tooth Fairy argued.

            Sandy waved a hand and held up his tablet, on it a picture of a snowflake, a plus sign, FBI, an equal sign and a happy face. Tooth smiled. “That’s right! They already like you, it would be great.”

            “Plus,” North added, “I hear you are very good at being unseen. Could be very useful, no?”

            Jack shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. All of the scenarios he’d thought up, all of the possibilities that he thought they would do if they caught him, and nothing like this had ever even come close to getting on his radar. He remembered the days he had considered going up to the Guardians, offering his services and begging to be a part of them. Something had always stopped him though. At the time he had been desperate to join, to be a part of a group, part of _something_. He wanted partners, friends, a family. He had sported notions that they would be kind to him, look after him and maybe even use their infinite resources to help him discover who he was, to find his past.

            Then came the day they had actually spotted him and kicked him out without a second glance. The Guardians of Childhood didn’t look twice at the lonely homeless boy who had taken shelter from the cold in their headquarters. It had hurt. Hurt a lot worse than he’d told anyone, even Baby Tooth who somewhat knew how he felt. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go back with them after that hurt. And then there was Neal, Mozzie, Peter, and Mrs. Burke. People who saw him and noticed him and actually offered him their homes and food and safety. If he agreed to what the guardians said, what if they closed the case faster? What if the FBI didn’t have a use for him anymore and they just forgot about him again, decided they didn’t want him around now that they didn’t need him anymore. But what if agreeing would make him _more_ important to them and he got to hang around even more. He sighed and shook his head, startled into looking up when Tooth’s voice sounded uncomfortably close.

            “Please Jack. It’s important. Pitch has been gaining power again; we need to stop him for good this time.”

            “Then it’s even more important that you pick someone more qualified.”

            “Pick? You think we pick?” North asked. “No Jack, you were chosen by Man in Moon.”

            “Oh, well in that case,” The boy said with a roll of the eyes. “Sorry, I’ll pass.” He began walking away, Bunnymund’s words sounding behind him.

            “I think we just dodged a bullet, guys. I mean, what does Jack Frost know about actually working with a team anyways?”

            “Bunny!” Someone shouted.

            “No, no. The kangaroo is right.” Jack replied, smirking as Aster growled at the unwanted nickname. “After all, I don’t need a dozen people behind me ready to fix my mistakes. I can get what I want done on my own.”

            “Yeah? Well at least I’m not all alone. People care about me.”

            Jack gasped at the low blow, his eyes wide before he narrowed them in attempt to hide the slight sheen he could feel forming. No, he wouldn’t let the man get to him like this. Jack growled and turned, willing his eyes to dry so that as he took a step away, only anger remained on his face. Baby Tooth was making her way through the large crowd, but because she hadn’t joined in the mob she was still far away. The girl knew that she would never reach the teen, but still she knew she shouldn’t let him go away, not when that was the last thing he heard.

            However, before BT could reach her friend the low ting of Sandy’s tablet sounded just before North’s voice boomed. “What if we offered payment?”

            Jack paused, turning back to see the large man hand Sandy the tablet back, a large picture of a dollar sign on the screen. “What kind of payment?”

            “Anything you want Jack. If you help us to get Pitch, help us stop him, you can have anything you want. Name your price.”

            “Let me guess, I only get this when the job’s done, right?”

            “Naturally.” Bunnymund immediately grumbled, even as Tooth said “Of course not!”

            North and Sandy shared a glance before the shorter man shrugged and held up his tablet. ½. “Just what I was thinking. We give half now, half when Pitch is stopped. Deal?”

            Jack paused, thinking for a moment and leaning heavily on his staff, forcibly not looking to Baby Tooth for an opinion. Whether the Guardians had forgiven him or not, it wouldn’t do to let on his friend’s involvement. Payment, now that was interesting. Tooth had an even greater network of information than the FBI, if anyone could find out who he was, it was her and her teeth. He could ask who he was for now and ask about his family for the second half. And, if he continued to work with the FBI like they wanted, then he would have the opportunity to ask them for information on the second bit. He could cheat the system, kinda.

            “I want information.” He said as he shook the large man’s hand. North laughed joyously.

            “Of course, of course! Nothing easier, right Tooth?”

            The woman nodded, but eyed the teen carefully. Baby Tooth watched him as well, remembering their conversation from when she had first recruited Jack to talk to the agent. He had said something about wanting payment that she couldn’t get without Mama going crazy. If the FBI had won the games, that meant he hadn’t gotten it yet. The girl shivered. Whatever it was must be important. Suddenly Mama Tooth looked around, seeing the mob of people that continued to surround the group of five. “All right everyone, back to work!” She called, turning to her guards. “Firewalls don’t stay the same just because we want to chat!”

            With a little grumbling the girls took position at their chairs and the others left to do their own various jobs. Only the five Guardians remained at the center of the room, Bunnymund still looking distinctly displeased even as the others greeted the boy. In the movement, not a soul noticed that Baby Tooth did nothing more but sit in the back row, not bothering to turn her laptop on or even open it, too focused on the scene in the middle of the vast room. More specifically, focusing on Jack.

            “Great, so I’m a Guardian now, whoopee. Is that all? Can I just, give you my order and pick up half tomorrow or something? ‘Cause I kinda have somewhere to be.”

            North swung a hand down onto the boy’s shoulder, nearly knocking his slight form over. “Nonsense Jack!” He said merrily, making the reasonable assumption that the pale child was simply making an excuse to leave. “We have much to discuss! For example, as Guardian you need Guardian name. Now think! What is fairy tale creature that most reminds you of you?”

            “Um, Jack Frost?”

            Even Bunnymund let out a soft chuckle at that, murmuring ‘duh’ as the teen shot his a conspiring smirk.

            “Ah, of course.” The jolly man said as Tooth giggled and Sandy shot Jack an approving thumbs up.

            “So, on to your duties as Guardian. We fight to protect the children of the world any way we can, mostly through enabling those who wish to help children.”

            Tooth took on the speech. “I have my girls almost constantly surveying the organizations we give to, in addition to several others, to try and make sure they actually put most of what we give them towards helping children in need.”

            Bunnymund started there. “We get the money, as you know, mostly from less than legal means. Usually from people who don’t deserve what they have ta begin with.”

            Sandy held up a tablet full of scribbled images. Jack looked at them for a moment before simply choosing to respond. “Oh, okay. Cool.” His attention wandered somewhat as the group continued to talk, telling him the ins and outs of Guardianship, what his role would be. After all, most of it he knew or could guess. However, his attention was torn back to the matter at hand as a light flashed from behind him, one of the baby teeth shrieking as her screen turned black. One by one the other computers flashed a bright light and went dead as well, all in the span of a second, leaving the girls completely offline, and a stunned silence filling the room. Before anyone could shake off their fetters of shock, the huge main monitor, flickered, going fuzzy for a second before a familiar and dreaded picture took the screen.

            Sickly grey-white skin sat pinched on a thin face with pointed chin, grey eyes rested under a head of coal black, slicked up hair. Beneath a sharply pointed nose a pair of cold, dry lips sat up in contempt smirk. “Well well, the big four all in one place. To what do I owe the honor?”

            “Pitch!” Tooth shouted, sounding outraged. “What did you do to my girls?”

            “Oh, these girls?” He asked as a small box appeared on the screen, flashing through the pictures of each of the girls. Jack felt dread settling in his stomach. The flash had been a camera.   
“Calm your cavities, Tooth Fairy. I simply… took them offline for the moment. I haven’t done anything to hurt them, yet.” He chuckled darkly, letting the photos flash by once more as the Tooth Fairy screamed in rage.

            “What do you want Pitch?” North asked, brandishing one of the decorative swords he’d grabbed off the wall on reflex.

            “This is simply a courtesy call.” The man said, his British accent sliding over them languid and dangerous. “I’ve called to let you know the fun and games are over. My power has grown while you’ve focused on _helping children_. You’ve gone weak while I’ve gotten stronger. I just hope you’re prepared, or this won’t be any fun at all.” Suddenly he paused, catching sight of a flash of blue and brown. “Hold on now, what’s this?” Suddenly he chuckled lowly. “Jack Frost!” He said, surprised. The teen held a glare at the man and had to work to hold back a shudder. “I didn’t know you were all buddy- buddy with the Guardians.”

            “I wouldn’t say we were friends.” Just more customers.

            “Oh good, then I’m going to ignore you. Though I’m sure you’re used to that.”

            Jack was ready with a comeback- I don’t have to be friends with the Guardians to dislike you- but before he could say anything Bunny interrupted, yelling that Pitch would never get away with it –whatever _it_ was- because the Guardians would always be there to stop him. Pitch only chuckled at the tirade.

            “We’ll see.” And the screen went back. Russian, Australian, and American curses filled the room, and Sandy held up a tablet proudly displaying ##*&%@! Jack said nothing, his eyes seeking out Baby Tooth. The girl was looking around, nervousness and fear in her eyes.

            Tooth followed his eyes and nearly wailed. “Pitch knows what my girls look like. He’ll be able to find out everything about them by now. He’ll come after them, just to hurt me!”

            “Now don’ worry. Pitch‘s never been too great with computers. I think they’ll be safe for-“

            “He must have _gotten_ someone good with computers. Do you know how much work it had to have been to break through _my_ defenses with a virus like that? Finding them will be child’s play to someone with that level of skill.”

            “So what do we do?” Jack asked.

            Sandy held up a picture of an airplane and North nodded. “We must get them out of here, someplace safe but out of the way until Pitch is gone.”

            A chorus of arguments sounded from the girls, but Tooth was firm, telling them in no uncertain terms to get back to her place and pack up their belongings, reminding them to stick together as they left, citing their safety in numbers. Soon only Baby Tooth remained. She hesitantly came up to the Tooth Fairy.

            “Sorry sweet tooth,” The woman began. “No exceptions, go with your sisters.”

            “He didn’t get a picture of me and my computer’s fine.”

            “What?”

            “You had me on FBI duty, but Jack’s here. They weren’t going to have anything new so I just… left my stuff in my bag. I wanted to listen.”

            Tooth paused for a moment before enveloping one girl into a large hug. “Any other day you’d be suspended for weeks for this, but now…” She laughed and let go of the girl, turning to Jack. “Looks like you saved one of my fairies.”

            The teen grinned, winking at his friend. “Happy to be of service.”

            “So what now?” Bunnymund asked.

            “Now we lost our information network, these two cannot do everything. And it looks like Pitch is even stronger than we had thought. We must go, prepare!”

            “What should I do?” The newest member asked.

            “Nothin for now.” Bunnymund answered, but distinctly lacking his usual hostility. “Just wait for us to call and get as close to that Agent as you can.”

            Jack paused and looked down to his watch. “Crap. About that, since you kinda kidnapped me, do you think I could get a lift?”


	14. A Time to Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to post the next chapter, it was graduation week. on the plus side, I officially have my diploma!!!  
> AND! I actually made it through my salutatorian speech without making a fool of myself! Hooray for miracles!   
> So, I can finally post! YAY!

Jack Frost sighed as he jumped out of the car. It was past nine, who knew of the Burkes were even still expecting him, much less still had dinner ready. Still, even without food, there was still the offer of a night’s stay, and considering it had taken the yetis over half an hour to drive seven miles and the snow wasn’t supposed to _really_ get bad until one A.M, he could use a nice warm place to stay. Still, his fist hesitated as they neared the door, inches from knocking. Finally he sighed and rapped twice against the door, throwing his hood over his face as if to hide and gripping his staff with white knuckles.

            The door opened almost immediately, Elizabeth’s face in the doorway with the others all crowded behind her. “Jack!” She cried, relief flooding across her face as she bustled him in. “Oh thank goodness. I was so worried.”

            “We went out to look for you, but couldn’t get too far in this weather.” Neal said regretfully, as Mozzie practically vibrated with curiosity.

            “So? What happened?”

            “Yes Jack,” Peter said in a my-son-missed-curfew tone. “Care to explain why you’re so late? You really had us worried.”

            “Oh, um, I’m kinda a Guardian now.”

            Silence rang for a full minute, then Elizabeth spoke. “I think this might be a conversation better suited to the dinner table.”

            Jack visibly perked, leaning his staff against the coat rack as he came further into the house. “You waited for me?”

           “Of course.”

            “You missed out on chips and salsa though.” Neal said dryly as the group made their way to the taco bar, meat still simmering on low.

            “I think I’ll survive.” Jack responded, loading up a tortilla with a plethora of toppings. “This looks amazing, I’m starving.”

            Little more was said as the hungry group focused on filling up their plates and stuffing their tortillas to the max, it wasn’t until they were all settled around the table and well into their second tacos that the inevitable questions started.

            “So, what’s this about joining the Guardians?”

            “Apparently the powers that be- the Man in the Moon- decided that the Guardians need someone to keep them connected to the FBI while they search for Pitch, and guess who was the lucky winner? It’s funny though, I don’t remember filling out a raffle ticket for this.”

            “They weren’t mad that you sold them out in the first place?” Elizabeth asked, surprised.

            “Guess not. Trust me, I’m not exactly thrilled about this but we worked out an okay deal.”

            “I thought you would have liked working to help kids,” Neal remarked, remembering the day at the park.

            “I like kids, the Guardians I don’t like so much. But I really hate Pitch, so I guess it all works out.”

            “What exactly does this job entail?”

            “Telling you guys stuff about Pitch that you couldn’t figure out on your own, keeping information flowing between you and the Guardians, maybe a little spy work on the side. Oh, by the way, Pitch has someone working for him who is crazy good with computers. Like, incredible, so I’d be watching for that if I were you. But… it’s not good. He’s more powerful that we thought. The Guardians thought they were holding him back, but somehow his empire has grown right under their noses. Well, that or he just got a couple of really good people. I think they’ll be calling for your help a lot sooner than they would like.”

            “These Guardians do realize that we’re trying to catch them just as much as we’re trying to catch Pitch, right?”

            Jack shrugged. “They’re pretty confident.” Try cocky. “Besides, now that I’m kind of one of them it isn’t like you’re gonna get any of their secrets from me. At least, not until Pitch is in jail and I’ve been paid.”

            “Paid?”

           “Like I said, I wasn’t thrilled with being pulled into their little club. We had to work something out.”

            Peter nodded, shooting Neal an uncertain look. If Jack was part of the Guardians would he really be able to help with the case?

Neal shrugged in response, tilting his hand back and forth in a more-or-less gesture.

Peter shrugged and spread his hands open. What should I do?

Neal gestured to Jack. Ask him, worse he can say is no.

Peter gestured wildly back. I already got permission from Hughes and the school. What if he says no?

            “So, you want to clue the rest of us in on this conversation anytime soon?” Jack asked, amusement in his eyes.

            Peter shot Neal a lost glace before clearing his throat. He wasn’t good with children, not really. “Um, how much time do you think these Guardians duties will take up?”

            The teen shrugged, bemused. “I don’t know. They don’t seem to spend too much time doing Guardian stuff. They have other lives too. Why?”

            “Well, right now I’m working on a case and it is very hard to get in with the suspect. The only hole in his security that we can find is-“

            “How would you like to work an official undercover job for the FBI?” Neal interrupted.

            “Sweet! Sounds fun, I’m in. What am I doing?”

            Neal smirked at Peter as the man rolled his eyes, Mozzie getting up for seconds with the large proclamation that he wouldn’t just ‘sit there and listen as a perfectly good thief got brainwashed by suits’. The CI watched the man leave with amusement before turning to the teen.

            “The only in we have to a smuggler is his daughter, she’s about your age and goes to one of the best prep schools in New York. We need a way to get closer to her and her father, preferably in his house or at least find a good way to bypass security.”

            “So I’m going to a fancy-pants school and flirting with a girl for the FBI?”

            “That’s the plan in a nutshell.”

            Jack shifted in his seat nervously fiddling with the bits of cheese and lettuce that fell out of his taco. “I mean, it sounds alright and all, point out the girl and I could be her best friend in seconds,” Maybe. He could charm people pretty well for short periods of time but he wasn’t exactly the best at human interaction. Three years only talking to yourself did that. That wasn’t the biggest issue though. “But… who’s going to give me answers on the tests and stuff? I- I’m not exactly up to date with my education.” He admitted sheepishly, refusing to look up. Elizabeth’s eyes widened and she quickly went to lay a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder. Jack shrugged it off easily and grinned. “I mean, I’m not stupid or anything, but this has to be a pretty good school, my biweekly trips to the Library aren’t going to cut it.”

            There was a long moment of awkward silence, but before anyone else could speak Mozzie returned, obviously having overheard everything. “Not a problem, my friend. I can teach you.”

            “ _You_ want to teach Jack?” Peter asked disbelievingly. “For an FBI operation.”

            “I’m not teaching him _for an FBI operation,_ suit. I’m teaching him so that he will know. After all, ‘The desire of knowledge, like the thirst of riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it.’”

            Jack shrugged uncertainly. “Sure, that’ll work I guess.” The teen had to hold back a sigh, however. For a while he’d actually thought that the invitation had been just that, an invitation, unfortunately it seemed like it was just a prepayment before they hired him for a job. Of course, he should have realized. He never got invited anywhere unless there was a reason, he should be used to that by now. He must have been letting out an aura akin to his feelings, because before he knew it there was a kind hand on his shoulder and Jack found himself looking El’s crystalline eyes.

            “You know you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, right?” Maybe if he felt like finding somewhere else to sleep for the night.

            “No, no! It sounds like a lot of fun, just nervous.” It was true, it did sound like fun. Just because he was disappointed with the night didn’t have to make him want to help any less.

            “You’ll do fine.” Neal assured and Jack nodded, searching his mind for a way to change the subject. Suddenly he grinned.

            “I’ve become a popular guy, three business offers in a week. First Mozz, then the Guardians, and now this. By the way I’m good for the job now if the positions still open.”

            “Job, what job?” Peter asked, Mozzie not sparing him a glance.

            “No can do, sorry. Positions been filled.”

            Jack shrugged. Oh well, he hadn’t really expected the job, and it had the desired affects. They were all suitably distracted.

            “Seriously, what job?” Peter insisted, and it was then that Elizabeth declared that it was time to retire to the living room for dessert. Jack humbly offered up another box of Fun Flakes as Elizabeth brought a pie to the coffee table, Peter and Mozzie still bickering back and forth. Neal moved aside one of the curtains and whistled lowly.

            “I think I’m going to be sick tomorrow Peter.”

            “I don’t think so.” The agent joined Neal at the window before grimacing. “You probably won’t be heading home tonight, but if I have to go to the office in this, then so do you.” Neal shrugged easily, he’d distracted the man from Mozzie, which was all he intended to do. Even Neal was surprised however, when Peter turned to Jack. “What about you?”

            “Huh?”

            “Are you coming with us to the office tomorrow to talk about the case?”

            “I’d like to say no, but considering how it turned out last time I didn’t go to the office to get debriefed, maybe I’d better tag along.”

            Peter smiled. “It’s gonna be a pretty slow day, we won’t have to go in until later.”

            “Good, cause I think I’m gonna sleep for a week,” The teen answered as he yawned. He shifted in the same comfy chair as he’d sat in last time, face morphing to confusion as something foreign in his pocket dug into his hip. Suddenly he jumped in revelation. “Oh yeah,” He called as he pulled the cell phone out of his pocket. “By the way, can I get some numbers?”

            Tooth had insisted on giving him the slightly outdated iPhone so that the Guardians had a way to contact him whenever they needed. She had even insisted that it was a gift, not part of his payment at all. Of course, they didn’t know what his price was yet. As much as he wanted to know, there was no point in asking until more of the girls were back online. They couldn’t find anything now and it would just be distracting. Also… Baby Tooth didn’t know, and he didn’t think he could stand her looking at him the way he _knew_ she would. Not until there was a solution in sight at least.

            Neal frowned at the device. “I thought you didn’t have a phone.”

            The boy shrugged. “Apparently the Guardians weren’t any more thrilled with the idea of communicating via wall art than you are. They gave it to me.”

            Peter frowned, but Mozzie was the first one to speak up. “No way. It’s bad enough that big brother is listening into my phone calls, I don’t need your friends doing it too.”

            Jack rolled his eyes. “If they really wanted to listen in, it wouldn’t matter what cell we used.”

            For a moment the paranoid silence of one aware that someone could always be listening, then it was abruptly broken by Elizabeth as she grabbed the phone out of Jack’s palm. “In that case,” She said as she began typing at the screen, soon handing back the phone with all of her information added. Jack grinned but grabbed the phone back.

            “Maybe you should just tell me the rest of the numbers. I think the Easer Bunny would kill me if he heard I gave his number to a fed.”

            Neal’s head jerked up and he shared a glance with Mozzie, if there numbers were all in that phone, all it would take was a glance and he could get all of the answers they wanted. A quick look at Peter showed the same thoughts, though with a different end in mind. Jack seemed to notice because he gripped the phone tight to his chest protectively, glaring at the surrounding group. Elizabeth nudged Peter with her elbow and the man startled before stumbling through his number, leading the rest of the men to do the same.

            Jack grinned as the contacts filled up, seeming to take pride in the scant number of names the phone boasted. There were only eight numbers in it, but that was seven more than a phone would have had a month ago, and even if all of his contacts were more business partners than friends, it was contacts. And, they didn’t seem to _despise_ his company. Maybe someday… when the drama with Pitch and the Guardians was over they could be friends. Maybe. He yawned to hide a snort. Yeah right, and maybe someday he and the Easter Bunny would paint eggs together.

            He settled down into his comfy chair, yawning, as he idly listened to the conversations. His eyes sagged down as he struggled to pay attention- they seemed to be talking about the case he was working on- but getting kidnapped took a lot out of a person and before he knew it he was halfway asleep being led-drug down a hallway and into a guest room, settling on a much-comfier-than-a-hotel-room bed before his eyes closed for the night.

* * *

 

Later that night Elizabeth stood in the doorway into the teen’s temporary room, a soft light in her eyes. She didn’t move even when Mozzie stepped up behind her.

            “Penny for your thoughts?” The man asked softly. El shook her head slightly, gaze never leaving Jack.

            “I thought he’d be a lighter sleeper, with the lifestyle he lives.”

            Mozzie hummed under his breath. “He must feel safe here.”

            “I guess.” The woman sighed heavily. “I’m not so sure it was smart of Peter to bring up the FBI job when he did. You saw his face, he wasn’t just upset because of his lack of education.”

            Mozzie nodded. “I know.”

            “I’m pretty sure he think that this was the only reason we invited him over, like it was payment or something. I don’t want it to be like that. I like him.”

            Mozzie nodded, but waited a moment before answering. “It could be a good thing. I mean, kids like him typically aren’t the best at accepting charity.”

            “Since when has Jack done anything typical?” Neal’s voice sounded behind them, followed soon by Peter’s.

            “He’s too much like Neal in that aspect. What’s going on?”

            “Nothing.” Elizabeth answered. “Just… watching.”

            The man made a humming sound as he came up behind the woman, his eyes softening when he saw the sight inside the room. Jack had nestled himself down deep in the blankets, curled up in a ball with his staff gripped like a teddy bear. A small smile played at his lips.

            Neal glanced in too. “He looks so innocent,” He said, unable to resist voicing the cliché.

            Peter snorted softly. “Yeah, doesn’t look as much like you anymore.”

            “Hey,” the man token protested, but it was quickly followed by a soft chuckle.

            The FBI agent looked to his wife, then back to the sleeping teen. “How would you feel about offering the kid a place to stay during the case?”

            “Just during the case?” The woman asked dubiously, her earlier conversation with Mozzie coming to the forefront of her mind.

            “As long as we can get him to stay. I don’t know how long that’ll last though. Besides, I hear he’s quite the prankster.”

            “Oh, I think I’m well versed in dealing with chaos.” The woman responded, casting a mischievous glance at the two conmen in the room. Mozzie shrugged while Neal answered the look with an unrepentant grin.

            “Now now, you guys don’t get to hog him. There’s plenty of room at my place and you know as well as I do that June would just _adore_ him. Besides, whose house says ‘spoiled rich kid’ more, yours or mine?”

            “If I remember correctly you don’t exactly do well with houseguests.” Peter replied.

            “No, I don’t do well with _you_ as my houseguest. I don’t think Jack will insist on watching the game at full volume every night.”

            “Hey what about my place?” Mozzie interrupted.

            Neal glanced at him, “Aren’t you living in a camper in the woods now?”

            Mozzie was quiet for a moment. “Maybe he should stay with one of you guys.”

            The group laughed slightly, but before they could say anything more Jack mumbled in his sleep and turned over, the laughter waking him. Elizabeth quietly closed the door and motioned to the living room, indication that they should continue the conversation elsewhere.

            When they reached the room each grabbed one of the remaining Frost Flakes as they sat down, letting silence fill the room for a moment as each waited for the treats to melt on their tongues. When they did speak, it was Elizabeth who first voiced her concern. “What about these… Guardians?”

            “What about them?”

            “Is it really such a good idea for Jack to be a part of all this? It doesn’t sound safe for him, and I thought he said they hated him.”

            Mozzie scoffed. “I’d like to see you try and stop him.”

            Neal nodded in agreement. “If Jack wants to join, then there isn’t really much we can say. He isn’t going to listen if we tell him to back off.”

            “I’m more concerned about this “payment’ he’s getting from them.” Peter interrupted. “He obviously doesn’t like the Guardians, so whatever it is that’s keeping his interest, it’s important.”

* * *

 

“I’m just worried 'bout this payment he wants from us.” Bunnymund complained, pacing the room as he continued to complain about Jack’s new found position as a Guardian. “Don’t you think you could have grilled him a little more about that North? You know, maybe asked at least one question about it.”

            “Bah,” North dismissed his worry with a wave of his hand. “Am not worried. IS just information, what can he ask for?”

            “Oh, I don’t know, maybe our personal information so that he can lead the feds after us once he gets out. Am I the _only_ one who realizes that he doesn’t like us?”

            “Oh, you’re just a worrywart.” Tooth responded with a roll of her eyes. “Jack wouldn’t waste a chance like this with something like that and you know it. Whatever he wants to know, it’s something important to him.”

Sandy waved to catch their attention and held up a rough sketch of the Guardians on his tablet,

Jack’s thin figure added to it. Then, with everyone’s attention still on him, he added bars

surrounding the five. Tooth nodded. “Sandy’s right, he’s one of us now. Even if he did set us up and make himself scarce afterwards, he’d all over our records by now. He’d be arrested too.”

            “Not if he has an in with the suits. He pretty chummy with them if you ask me, dinner parties, really?”

            “The closer he is with them, the better it is for us.”

            “Yeah, till he turns complete fed.” Bunny growled.

            “We can trust Jack.” North spoke up. “I can feel it in my belly.”

            Bunnymund rolled his eyes. “Oh, that’s really reassuring.”

            Before he could say anything more, a high pitch trill sounded as Tooth’s phone rang. The woman disappeared to a quiet corner as the argument continued, returning only a moment later with relief written across her face. “The girls made it out of the state safe. They’re heading to one of my hiding holes now.”

            “Is good news.” North said with a smile and Tooth grinned back before sighing.

            “But they might as well be in a cage for all the help they’ll be. We can’t risk putting them back in computers, just in case. Pitch put them completely out of commission.”

            “Is fine Toothy. Important this is that girls are safe.”

            The colorful Guardian smiled. “That’s right. I’m sorry, I really am glad that they’re safe it’s just… frustrating. For me and for them.”

            “Now, don’t worry shelia,” Bunny said comfortingly. “We’ll just have to get rid of this boogeyman soon and bring them all back.”

            Tooth looked back to the one minifairy that remained, the girl tying fiercely at her computer. “Right.”


	15. In White

Jack slept like the dead and woke to the scent of coffee. He grunted and rolled over in his warm cocoon of blankets, nuzzling down into his bed. He refused to even open his eyes until the scent of waffles joined that of coffee, at which time a single, extremely groggy blue eye opened. Some voice in the back of his mind was shouting that this was a strange place, he couldn’t remember falling asleep here, he didn’t know where he was. However, that voice was currently being shoved forcefully out of his mind by the voice keening ‘it’s so soft, so warm, so comfy’.

            With a mighty yawn the teen rolled out of bed, landing on his feet in a crouch with the blanket still wrapped around his shoulders. Still groggily rubbing his sleepy eyes, the teen made his way toward the scent of food, blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cape. He was still mid yawn when he slid into the kitchen table, mind running wholly on autopilot, like this was something he was used to. With another yawn the boy folded his arms on the table, burrowing his head into the basket they made. Slowly, his mind caught up with his body so that he didn’t so much as twitch when Elizabeth’s voice sounded behind him.

            “Well good morning Sleeping Beauty.”

            Jack grunted intelligibly before turning his head so one bright blue eye peeked up at her. “Heh. You know I’d be prince charming.” He smirked at her before burrowing his head back into his arms.

            El chuckled, moving to her waffle iron. “Hungry?”

            Jack mumbled in affirmation, yawning as he raised his head. “Where’s everybody else?”

            “Mozzie was gone following the first plow. Apparently he was more than eager to get out of a federal agents house. Can’t imagine why.”

            Jack giggled, rising to his feet and accepting a packet of chocolate powder as he put a mug of milk in the microwave. “I got nothing.”

            The woman smiled. “Neal’s in the shower and Peter hasn’t exactly woken up yet, but since I started the coffee he should be up-“

            “Morning El,” A yawning voice sounded from the doorway. Elizabeth grinned and winked at Jack before greeting her husband with a kiss and a cup of coffee. The man sat at the table’s head and took a deep sip. It was two more long drinks before he was awake enough to notice Jack and, if his expression were anything to go on, three more before he recognized him. By then Jack was halfway through his coco and had a freshly made waffle on his plate. The moment he did Jack grinned broadly.

            “Good mooorning!” He said, drawing out the ‘O’ in a chipper voice, making his eyes wide and expression bright. “The sun is shining, it’s a beautiful day, the flowers are bright and beautiful!” He nearly sang, his voice purposely high and annoyingly chipper and he bit into his breakfast. Peter grumbled at him.

            “It’s winter.”

            “The snow is white and fluffy.” He amended.

            “And there’s no sun, only clouds.”

            “The icicles glimmer with the streetlights?”

            “There was a blizzard last night.”

            “Still a beautiful day!” Jack said with a cheeky grin. “Perfect for snowball fights and sledding. I say we do that instead of work, sick day.”

            “Sounds good to me.” Neal said with a smile as he poured himself a cup of coffee before offering the pot to Peter, who quickly accepted and filled his cup.

            “I already told Hughes that I was bringing him in.”

            “What if I changed my mind?”

            “Tough.” The man said with a smirk to answer Jack’s teasing grin.

            Jack smiled back and stretched out, comfortably full and wide awake. He ran his arm over his mouth, grimacing when his arm came aback feeling sticky. Looking up he caught sight of Neal’s slick wet hair and grinned. He hadn’t had a nice, hot shower since he’d caught that yeti in the window of his hotel. Why not get one now? He was certainly paying enough for it after all. If there was any bitterness in the thought, Jack made sure to keep it off his face.

            The teen stood up with a grin. “Shower open?”

            The three adults shared a look before Elizabeth nodded. “First door at the top of the steps.”

            “Thanks.” Jack called with a backhanded wave, hoisting his backpack up the steps. The trio watched him go in silence, saying nothing until the faint sound of running water could be heard.

            “Well,” Peter began from behind his mug of coffee. “He’s certainly making himself at home.”

            Elizabeth simply hummed contemplatively from behind her own steamy cup. Neal however, frowned. “I don’t like it. Something’s up. You remember how he acted last time he was here. You don’t go from that to this that quickly. He’s either putting up a front, or there’s been some kind of misunderstanding. Either way, he isn’t acting… normal.”

            Peter nodded, looking to the man. “Think you could talk to him? Conman to conman.”

            Neal smirked, “He hasn’t reached conman yet. I think we found that out with our little lying game.”

            “I thought you beat him one round.” Elizabeth cut in.

            “Peter’s fault.” Was Neal’s immediate reply. The agent simply shook his head and rolled his eyes, biting into his own breakfast.

* * *

 

Jack shifted uneasily on the bathmat, toweling his dripping hair dry with one hand as he pulled all of his clothing out of his backpack with the other. He scowled at the meager display. He’d worn his only new (read presentable) clothing to dinner. Everything else made him look like a vagabond. Which, he kind of was, but that wasn’t the point. Maybe they wouldn’t really notice. People wore sweaters for multiple days without washing the, right? And it wasn’t uncommon for someone to have multiples of the same pants, or at least the same type of pants and would they really be able to tell the difference? The teen sighed. Yes, yes they would.

            He sighed and pulled on the used pants anyway, scowling at a stain that had probably come up from the kidnapping. He dabbed at it with some warm water but scowled when it only made the stain more noticeable. Great. With a sigh he gave up threw on his hoodie from the day before. Maybe if he kept his coat on at the office nobody would notice that he wasn’t exactly dressed for the FBI. He sat down and let out a shuddering breath. Nobody was here so he could stand to freak out a little. He, Jack Frost pickpocket of New York, was going to march straight into New York’s FBI office. This was not good, not good. The teen allowed himself two minutes to panic, to allow everything that could go wrong to flash through his mind, before forcing a calming breath and closing his eyes, bringing a confident smirk up to hide the fear.

            He could do this. He’d pulled a Daniel yesterday, going straight into the Guardian’s lion den and coming out unscathed. The FBI offices were nothing compared to that. If anything went wrong, well… he smirked to himself, he always did want to try breaking out of prison. With a final tug to straighten his hoodie, he pulled his backpack on, slipped his phone underneath his waistband where he could feel if Neal tried to lift it, and walked down to the kitchen. Peter was already gone, and the sound of another shower running sounded from somewhere in the house.

            Elizabeth was frowning at him, but when he locked eyes with her she quickly changed expression and presented him with a wide smile. “More coco?” She asked, but Jack shook his head as he plopped down into his seat. He didn’t think he could take anything now, not when he was moments away from being marched into Suit Central. “You know,” The woman began, sounding casual and cautious at the same time. Jack tensed, he didn’t like that tone. It was like she was worried he was going to split the moment she spoke, which ironically made him want to disappear even more. “I was planning to meet you guys for lunch later, so if you’d like you could leave your backpack here and I could wash your clothes for you.”

            Jack relaxed. Was that it? If they thought he would be offended by offering to clean his clothes they got the wrong guy. Or maybe she just thought he was wary of accepting charity. Admittedly he hadn’t before, but mostly because no one had ever _offered._ Still… He looked up uncertainly. “Lunch? How long is this thing going to take?”

            “Could be a while.” Neal answered with a sip of his coffee and a glance at the woman. “We have a lot to go over before you can really work with the FBI. Not to mention debriefing on the case itself.”

            The boy groaned even as he shrugged, hoisting his backpack onto his lap. “So do you want me to take out all of my clothes and just give them to you or…”

            “You could just give me the whole bag and I could wash it too.”

            With a grin Jack slung the bag into her waiting hands. “Thanks.”

            As Elizabeth left to start the load, Neal and Jack were left alone. The man seemed focused on his newspaper so the teen allowed himself time to survey the room, for the first time taking in his appreciation for being in an actual house. He hadn’t been in one legally in three years. Not since he ran away from his last foster home. With a small smile he relaxed into the chair, pouring himself some milk from the jug on the table, ignorant of Neal’s eyes watching his every move. The man eyed the boy from the corner of his eyes, comparing the innocently awed teen to the boy who had so casually called for the shower.

            “How was your shower?”

            “Not bad. Better than the ones at the gym.”

            “Hmm.” Neal hummed, taking a large sip out of his mug. “The Burke’s are really good with hospitality. Well, Elizabeth is.” He amended, and Jack shot him a grin. “I’m kind of hurt. You’ll use their shower, but I get you to stay at my house for longer than it takes for you to wake up.” He made sure to keep his tone light, teasing, even as he secretly held onto every word of the teen’s answer. Jack’s air of casual contentment had gone down, and a flash of bitterness crossed his face before the teen shrugged again.

            I’m doing a lot for this sleepover, I’m going to get everything out of it that I can. He didn’t say that though, he wouldn’t want them to assume he didn’t want the gig. “Figured you didn’t want me going into the FBI headquarters smelling like a stray dog.”

            Neal grinned. “I would have been more concerned about the car ride.”  
            Jack smiled at the man, twiddling with the strings of his hoodie. His answer may have been more Blasé than his actual thought, but now his mind was back on his clothes, how he would look surrounded by people in uniforms and suits. Neal frowned at the motion, recognizing the nervous tell for what it was. His mind battled internally, going back and forth between reassuring the nervous boy and weeding out the reason for his strange behavior. It didn’t take long for him to choose the answer.

            “Jack, you know you’re going to be fine, right? Nothing’s going to happen. We’re going to go in, talk about boring important stuff, and get out. If people are staring at you, then it’s probably just because you’re with someone as sexy as me.” He said with a grin.

            Jack gave out a barking laugh and smirked back. “Please. We all know who in our group makes all the girls do a double take.” The teen teased back, preening slightly.

            “Yeah, Peter.” Elizabeth’s voice sounded as she reentered the room, making Neal grin and sending Jack into peals of laughter.

            “Yep, that’s exactly who I was thinking of. Peter all the way.”

            “What’s this about me?” Peter asked, coming in the room dressed and ready to go. Jack laughed once more.

            “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

            The agent glared around the room, not trusting the all too innocent looks all sported, especially as Elizabeth spoke. “Oh, we were just talking about how irresistibly handsome you are.”

            “Uh- huh.” The man replied, completely unimpressed as he rolled his eyes. Jack’s constant giggling ruining any chance there was that he would take his wife’s words for anything beyond a tease. “Come on, we’ll be late enough already with all of this snow.”

            Jack grinned and hopped out of his chair, hand shooting out to grab a nonexistent backpack before “smoothly” changing course so that he simply brushed through his hair, embarrassed smile flashing across his lips as he ran ahead of them to grab his coat and staff. Peter glanced at his CI as the teen ran off, his eyes asking a question, but Neal just shook his head. He hadn’t got any information from the kid, but it was worth it to see his mood improve so much. Unfortunately, that meant that whatever the misunderstanding was, it was left to fester.

            Jack grinned and laughed as he stepped out the door and onto a pile of snow, his coat around his shoulders and staff in hand. Turing with excited eyes, he eyed his unblemished surroundings. He would have to go to the park as soon as he got out of the office, play with the kids on their snow day, maybe lead them back to the sledding hill. Ooh! Maybe the cinnamon almond man will set up in the park, people won’t be out anywhere else after all. He should get some stuff to make snowmen! He could always find coal and rocks sitting around, maybe that vegan place was planning on selling some unsold carrots or-

            “Jack, you ready to go?” Peter’s voice sounded, amused, and Jack looked up to see him and Neal waiting at the car.

            The teen turned and giggled before following the men and sliding into the car’s backseat, laying his staff against the floor before leaning against the long bench. To Peter’s amusement, Neal and Jack began a small game of con, with random facts about themselves and trivia. However, as the two played Peter noticed that as Neal played more and more using facts and lies about himself, so did Jack, until the game seemed to wholly consist of personality traits and stories.

            Peter had thought that he’d known and respected Neal’s skills when they were rivals, but as they worked together he found himself more impressed each day. Especially now as the man effortlessly tricked the teen into delving ever deeper in his past and personality, making the boy reveal himself to them without the child realizing it. And though Neal was the clear winner of their game, as it went on the conman guessed wrong more and more often and Jack’s correct guesses increased. By the time they pulled into the parking lot, Jack was catching up.

            As they crossed the sidewalk nearing the building, Jack began to slow. His grip tightened on his staff and he managed to slow their group down to half the speed. Though no unease showed on his perfectly masked face, he couldn’t stop himself from hesitating for just a second at the doors before forcing himself in.

            The trio walked to the elevators, Jack’s eyes widening as he eyed the bustling building teeming with people. He had no clue that so many people worked here, and with all this snow it was probably a slow day. His hands wrong themselves on his staff and he gulped, eyes constantly roving his surroundings even as the elevator doors closed to encompass him. He watched the elevator camera in the corner of his eye and, with a casual flick of the wrist pulled his hood up to cover his head from the recording device. Both Peter and Neal noticed but chose to share a silent look rather than comment on the odd bout of paranoia. Jack, not one to stand silence especially when nervous, began chattering aimlessly as the elevator travelled up the floors. Once more his face remained impassive while body language betrayed his nerves, his posture an open window where his face remained a closed door. Even as he leaned on his staff he remained tense and stiff, and when he swung it around to lay over his shoulders and rest his arms around it Peter was almost sure that it would snap.

            The White Collar offices were much tamer than the main reception area, many of the agents and clerks chose to stay home rather than brave the storm so only five or six were there when they entered. Of the few, Jones and Diana had come to work and were eager to get their first good look at the teen. The two agents looked up at the trio stepped off the elevator, Jack still nervously clutching the worn wood of his staff. However, his words had died with the elevator’s ding and the boy was silent as they stepped into the office, despite Neal’s reassuring smile and the mischievous grin upon his own face.

            For a moment there was neither sound nor movement, everyone in the office eager to catch sight of the teen that had caught their boss’s interest. Finally Diana moved forward, Jones following behind. “So, you’re the infamous Jack Frost.” She said, holding out a hand for a handshake.

            Jack smiled broadly and took the hand, posture relaxing as the two agents introduced themselves, though Neal’s discerning eye suspected that the show was at least in part false. His suspicions were confirmed as the Peter began to lead the teen to Hughes office and the boy still continued his calm façade, but he said nothing. Let the child keep his flimsy armor. The man knew well enough that sometimes a mask was all that you had left. Still, that couldn’t stop him from putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder and mouthing ‘you’ll be fine’ as they crossed the threshold into the office, into the belly of the beast.

            Hughes was on the phone when the group entered, but was done and hanging up by the time all three made it into the room, Peter and Neal strategically standing between Jack and the door. The man looked up as he hung up the phone, casting a stern eye onto Jack. “So you’re the boy who tried to rob one of my best agents.”

            Jack cast him a cheeky grin and bowed. “Jack Frost, at your service.”

            Hughes looked at the boy sternly for a moment before nodding. “Good. You have to be smart and fast to outsmart my agents, and you’re going to need to be both for this.”

            “Technically he didn’t outsmart us.” Peter argued. “We did catch him.”

            “Technically he didn’t outsmart _me_.” Neal butt in.

            Hughes looked up at them sharply before turning back to the shrugging teen. “I wasn’t exactly trying that hard.”

            The man nodded. “Since you’re here I’m going to assume Peter filled you in on the basics.”

            “Yup.” Jack dropped onto one of the chairs. “I’m gonna be going to some fancypants school and flirt with a girl to stop crime.”

            The man paused for a second before slowly nodding. “I suppose that’s one way to put it.”

            He set down a file onto the table. “The subject is Paul Noel, a smuggler specializing in airfare. He has airtight security and almost nobody works for him without him knowing them perfectly. Our only chance to get close is through his daughter, Bethany Noel. They aren’t often seen together, probably from him juggling his day job and night job, so we have a good chance to get close to his operando without notice.

            “I’ve contacted the school and they’ve agreed to let us work as long as you don’t interrupt anyone’s studies and we’ve managed to fit you into most of her classes. Not all of them of course, because that would be too suspicious. I was just on the phone with the school and they’re sending me over a class schedule. She’s in all advanced classes, and we can’t ask the teachers to go easy on you without telling them about the whole investigation. I hope this isn’t a problem.”

            Jack shrugged. “I’ve got a tutor lined up.”

            “Good. You start in three weeks when the next semester begins. And this should be easier than we originally thought. The girl is usually surrounded by a large group of friends, all part of some after school club. Most of them are going on a trip together to go to some symposium for the next few weeks. They’ll be getting their assignments online, but apparently her father didn’t want her to go. With her usual friends gone she’ll likely be much more receptive to befriending a new student.”

            “Sweet.”

            “You’ll have to get a disguise and new identity. The white hair and name Jack Frost are too conspicuous. You’ll be going in as the illegitimate son of Nick Halden, well known millionaire with a gambling problem and a penchant for less than legal pursuits.”

            “That would be me.” Neal said with a slow smile.

            “Everything you need to know about Johnathan Halden is-“

            “No!” The boy almost shouted, horrified scowl on his face.”

            “What?” Hughes asked, supremely surprised. He shared a glance with Neal who looked just as shocked and slightly hurt that Jack would protest so much to being his son.

            “Sorry, I just-“ The boy sighed and licked his lips. “I really hate the name John. Can we stick with Jack or… well anything else?” He’d been a faceless John Doe for a year, he wouldn’t be one again.

            Once again glances were shared around the room, but finally Hughes nodded. “Fine. You’ll find everything you need to know about Jackson Halden in this, but we doubt anyone will be looking too closely.” He said as he tapped the folder.

            “Obviously we want this to happen as quickly as possible, but it’s more important that you remain safe. Before you start this I need you to know that it could possible endanger our investigation if we had to pull you out for any reason and this could be very dangerous. This man is a criminal, high profile, and if he suspects you, you could get very seriously hurt. This isn’t a game and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. While we’ll help in any way we can, I cannot guarantee we’ll be able to solve any little problem you come into contact with. I can’t promise you’ll be safe.”

            “Wouldn’t be fun if you could.” Jack said easily.

            The man nodded. “Good, now we can get some of the details ironed out. Come with me to the meeting room, so that we can talk with the others who’ll be working on the project. I’ll need you to sign some consent papers, get your allergy list, sizes for school uniforms, fill in some blank spaces on your schedule…”

            Jack swung to his feet as the man continued, his businesslike no-nonsense tone setting the nervous teen somewhat at ease. Nothing to worry about, it’s just another job. With a full body shudder and a grin, Jack followed the agent out of the room.


	16. 16. The Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think you can all guess from the title who shows up in this chapter.  
> Not gonna lie, this was MY FAVORITE CHAPTER SO FAR TO WRITE!  
> I really hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.  
> Also, it'll be a bit of a wait before the next chapter. Sorry, I was just on a backpacking trip through Pictured rocks (went about 40 miles with 35 lbs on my back Woo Hoo) so I didn't exactly have my comp to write. Luckily this was done and just had to be edited!

“All I’m saying is that knowing Pitch’s headquarters does us no good unless we do something about it.” Aster complained with a grumble.

            “And what would you have us do?” North asked with a roll of his eyes, clearly tired of the argument. “Walk in and ask nicely to know what he is doing? Bah!”

            Bunnymund growled in annoyance. “We’re some of the best criminals of the century! We should be able to do something.”

            “Sorry Bunny,” Tooth said, barely looking up from her practically buzzing keyboard, “But none of us really excel in recon. Sandy’s methods would be too obvious, you and I aren’t exactly he sneaking around types, and North works with mostly museums and private exhibits. He can handle a few guards but he isn’t exactly inconspicuous.”

            _Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle al-_ North looked down at his phone as the text alert sounded, smiling at the single emoticon he got from Sandy. “Ah yes, my friends, it seems that we had forgotten something. Or someone.”

            Aster immediately paled. “No way, nuh uh. I agreed to let him be our in with the feds, but this? No way.”  

            Tooth however, had stopped her frantic typing to look up speculatively. “He is good at… being unnoticed.”

            “Jack hid in our old place for a long time before we knew of him.” North agreed with a nod.

            “He’ll mess everything up! He’ll be found and killed!”

            Sandy held up his tablet, words in place of the usual pictures. “If Jack is really a Guardian, he must be trusted with Guardian tasks.”

            “So you say we send a kid to go and spy on Pitch, hoping that he won’t get noticed and that he’ll be some miracle find something useful.”

            “No,” North said brusquely. “Am saying we send Guardian to spy on Pitch, trusting that he will keep from getting noticed and get us the information we need.”

            Bunny had nothing to say to that and for a moment no sound was heard beyond the frantic typing of two sets of hands. Finally he sighed. “Just call ‘im.”

* * *

 

    “But in reality, the French revolution was just a farce to get the monarchy out so that it could be replaced by an even more repressive government led by Robespierre and the society of friends. You see, Robespierre and his group of lackeys had been planning it since the beginning, there was never any republic, for the people, no! They were trying to get rid of the kings so that they could be in charge and-“

            “No conspiracy theories when teaching Mozz!” Neal called out. The shorter conman scowled at him but acquiesced as he continued.

            “Well, eventually the society of friends was disbanded in a rather bloody way and next came Napoleon, another man of small stature and great intelligence who was greatly underestimated.”

            Jack looked up at the man in confusion, the ‘another’ throwing him for a loop until he noticed that the bald man seemed to be holding himself out with pride and a proud expression. It took everything he had not to burst out laughing, but the teen was just barely able to keep a straight face. Mozzie’s version of the French revolution was a little different from what he’d seen in Les Miserables and A Tale of Two Cities, but by now he’d gotten used to the man’s… odd approach to teaching. He settled into his chair more comfortably as Mozzie started on the secret messages believed to be hidden in the Napoleonic code.

            The lessons had been going on for a week and a half, every day starting at Eight o’clock. Technically they were supposed to end at three, But if Neal was already home then it had to be past six. Not that Jack minded. With these lessons he was treated to free breakfast and lunch every day, and if he stayed long enough he’d get dinner too. Which was good because he hadn’t had nearly enough time to pick pockets lately, he hadn’t even been able to go to the park since accepting the case. If it hadn’t been for the free food, Jack wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive. Jack bit back a yawn and snuck a look at the clock, starting slightly with surprise. It wasn’t even five thirty yet, Neal was home early. He bit back a groan, that meant he had to stick around for another hour or two before Neal made them stop to eat. His fears were allayed as the man went directly to the kitchen. The boy had to stop himself from snickering as the man put a pan on the stove. Recently the man seemed determined to prove to Jack that he could cook just as good as Elizabeth, and as long as Jack denied it, he got better and better food each night.

            They had been studying at Peter’s place the other night, and Jack let Neal’s newest competition slip accidentally, and now it seemed the woman was just as determined to prove she was the better cook. Not that Jack would ever complain, he couldn’t remember a time he ate this good. The teen’s thoughts turned fond as he thought of the woman. When they met her for lunch the day of the storm, it was to find that she’d actually bought brand new clothing identical to his old ones instead of washing them. Even his pepper spray was new and full. She said she had kept the old ones, in case of sentimental value, but the white haired boy had encouraged her just to pitch them. Not even the local charity would want his old rags, worn and torn as they were. However, his soft smile fell into a small frown as he recalled the decision he was being asked to make.

            He’d been offered his choice of a home for the investigation. It made sense he supposed, it would be adequate payment for his trouble and really the only way for him to get food and shelter since school would take up most of his thieving time. Plus he probably shouldn’t go to the hoity toity school looking like he’d slept in the street. Problem was, they wanted him to choose _where_ he would stay. Obviously he wouldn’t go with a random agent like Hughes had suggested, but between Peter and Neal where would he stay. Neal’s house was obviously better for their cover, but what did that matter? He was supposed to be getting into the girls house, not getting her into his. He had more in common with Neal, and he had so much to learn from Mozzie, but… Even if he loved the thrill, the game, the battle, the chase of stealing, he didn’t actually like the taking part, and that was Mozzie’s favorite thing. And while it was fun and a good hobby, Jack didn’t want to spend the rest of his life on the streets as a thief. But he _liked_ Mozzie and hearing his tips and advice for sneaking into a high security office or running the perfect heist.

            He loved being at Neal’s and it would be a no brainer… if only he didn’t love being at the Burkes’ house too. It felt secure there, stable in a way Neal’s place could never be. It was like being one of those families on TV, where they sit together and eat and laugh, and have problems but are always there for one another when the going get’s tough. Jack needed that, he wanted it so bad. It was what he looked in windows for and watched from the outside. It’s what he was missing that year he spent being passed around from family to family. Elizabeth and Peter could be just so… parental at times. Neal was great, he was the fun uncle who let you get away with anything and spoiled you rotten, but Peter and Elizabeth… they were the closest things to parents he could remember having.

            The boy was broken out of his revelry but a vibration near his hip and the sound of cracking ice. He rolled his eyes and bit back a flinch. Obviously whoever programmed this phone was having fun playing with his name (The ringtone was ice ice baby) but whenever he heard the crackling of the frozen water his mind was brought back to bloody fingers desperately clawing at ice and a lifesaving rock in the middle of a lake. He’d have to ask Baby to change it when she had time.

            With a sigh he pulled out his phone, ignoring Mozzie’s indignant “Jack, no phones in class!” The teen groaned when he saw the single picture that flooded the screen, an image of the northern lights.

            “Oh great.” He mumbled, pulling his backpack over his shoulders and grabbing his staff as he rose to his feet. “Sorry, but I gotta go.”

            “Before dinner?” Neal asked with a crooked brow. Jack never said no to food. The teen grimaced and shook his head, brandishing his phone at them but never showing the screen.

            “Duty calls.”

            “You’ll be here tomorrow, right?” Mozz asked.

            The boy began to answer affirmative and stopped himself. “I think so. I’m not sure, this is my first call.”

            Both men looked at him nervously. “Be careful.”

            “Will do.” The teen called back flippantly as he made his way out the terrace and began scrambling down, as always. Hje’d known them for over a month now and had yet to use the door, coming or going.

            With the boy gone, the two conmen shared a nervous glance. “Think he’ll be okay?”

            “I don’t know.” Neal said with a sigh and put away half the food. Mozzie noticed and frowned.

            “You didn’t think Jack would eat that much did you?”

            “No, but Alex is coming over.”

            “What? Are you crazy? Doesn’t she kind of, oh I don’t know, hate us?”

            “Come on Mozz is Alex really the type to hold a grudge for so long?”

            “She is exactly that type.”

            “Look Mozz, she came into town because she heard that there was a job opening for her, a big one with all of the biggest names in, well, anything you can think of. And I think this sounds a lot like what Jack was warning us about.”

            “You think it’s this Pitch guy?”

            “It could be. If it is I want to warn her not to take the job.”

            “Think she’ll listen?”

            “Once she hears that Peter and I are already after him? And when she knows what he’s really like? I think it’s a safe bet.”

            “Well, you try talking with her all you want, I am out of here.” The man said, quickly hurrying out the door. Neal smirked. That’s why he’d known to only set out enough food for two.

* * *

 

Jack eyed the yeti nervously as he made his way into the back of the factory. The guardian headquarters were in the back of the factory that produced all of the specially made toys sold by FAO Schwartz. He’d been given directions when he’d left last time, but he hadn’t exactly been paying attention so he was kind of just wandering around lost until one of the security guards, Phil according to the nametag, finally got tired of his presence and drug him to the correct room.

            “Sorry I’m late, this place is a maze.”

            “Is no problem!” North exclaimed. “Come, is time for your first task as Guardian.”

            “Huh?” Jack asked stupidly. He’d thought he was just going to be telling the FBI what the guardians wanted him to say. He didn’t think he’d ever actually have to do anything.

            “First task as Guardian! Your first task to help children and defeat the evil forces of Pitch!”

            “Oookay. What is it?”

            “Pitch is growing.” Tooth interceded. “This isn’t good thing, but because his… group is getting so large, we’ve finally been able to pinpoint where his hideout is.”

            “Problem is,” Bunnymund began, speaking for the first time. “None of us out the best at sneaking into a beehive like that. Which is why we called in someone who could.”

            Jack said nothing for a moment, waiting to hear the rest of the explanation, when understanding hit like a ton of bricks. “You mean me?”

            The man snorted. “If you think you can keep from messing it up.”

            The white haired boy suddenly grinned, excited. “Just give me a time and place.” Finally a chance to stretch out his legs and have fun. He felt like he’d been stuck inside learning forever. I mean, he loved reading and was curious enough to enjoy learning new things, but a classroom was not for him. However, his grin fell when they gave him the address. That was less than a mile away from the park where he played with the kids. Worse, it was almost across the street from his extreme sledding hill. He had almost delivered the kids right to Pitch’s hands without even realizing it.

            “Is there a problem, Jack?” Tooth asked, her hands slowing slightly. Baby Tooth looking at him with equal concern.

            “Oh, uh, no. Just surprised I guess. I used to crash in one of the abandoned buildings near there, creepy to think that he was so close.” The boy shook himself. “So, when are we doing this?”

            “As soon as possible!” North exclaimed. “How much time is needed to prepare?”

            “What?”

            “Prepare! Get blueprints, observe guards, discover patterns-“

            “What? Nonononono. I’m just gonna sneak in, none of that… boring stuff.”

            “See?” Bunny suddenly said, shooting the three other original guardians a glare. “I told ya he’d be like this. He doesn’t care about the operation, the danger, what we need, anything. He just wants to goof off and have fun. Listen here, Frostbite. This isn’t the same as grabbing a couple of ones off a tourist on the streets. This is serious and dangerous.”

            Jack bristled. “I know that. Just because I’m not one of you guys doesn’t mean I don’t know anything. I’ve done dangerous stuff before too you know.”

            “Yeah, like sitting outside of gang windows to hear the latest gossip.”

            “More like sneaking into the hide out of four of the world’s best criminals and all their henchmen off and on for two years. I’ll be fine!” He growled out. “And I’m going now.” With a huff he turned around and left.

            Baby Tooth immediately stopped typing, looking up at the others in shock. North sighed and gestured for her to follow, passing her the tools they were going to give Jack as she left. The man cast an irritated glance at Bunny. “We want Jack to be our friend. Not our enemy.” He said with a sigh.

            Bunnymund breathed out loudly, all angry tension draining from his body as he cast North a glance. “Maybe, but I’d like to see Pitch try and catch him now that he’s got a point to make.”

* * *

    _Stupid Bunny, I’m so going to prove him wrong._ Jack seethed to himself, completely hidden in a dark corner. Luckily Pitch’s lair was full of them. His white hair was camouflaged dark with a healthy amount of dirt, just as his pale skin was. He’d learned long ago that if someone was expecting to see a pale boy of white hair, they didn’t look so closely at the shadows, expecting him to stand out. Silent as a shadow and a ephemeral as melting snow, the boy made his way unnoticed into the center of the teeming building. Exccept it wasn’t just a building, it was a system of tunnels, running deep, deep underground, just below the subway system and seeming to stretch everywhere. The teen allowed himself a small smile, feeling victorious. He told North he didn’t need blueprints. The plans for the building wouldn’t have helped much here. .

            He dodged the notice of the dozens of Nightmares roaming the halls, recognizing some of the faces from wanted ads or television notices. He gulped softly, heart thudding in his chest. Maybe Bunny was right and this place was a lot more dangerous than the gangs he spied on. Not that that mattered. He wouldn’t get caught so he had nothing to worry about. He’d be fine.

            Finally, after hours of meticulous inching and hiding for what felt like miles, the teen found his way into Pitch’s, blessedly empty, office. He slowly slunk in and closed the door behind him, moving a can of Pitch’s canned coffee in front of the door so that it would rattle and give him warning if the door opened. As quickly as he could he made his way through Pitch’s files, taking pictures of each page with the high resolution camera that broadcasted directly onto Baby Tooth’s computer. One of the gadgets she had given him before he left. As he finished up he felt the slim rectangle of plastic that was the transmitter of Tooth’s. He just had to plug this into the USB and it would give the girls complete access to everything on Pitch;s computer, and they could even make a connection so that they would be able to see his files in the future as well.

            Baby Tooth had given it to him, assuring him up and down that it was safe, but… He had a bad feeling about it. Something wasn’t right. With slightly trembling hands he sent a text.

            _Get the files?_

            **_Yes_**

            _Still need the comp?_

           **_Yes Y? Prblm_**

            _No_ Just a funny feeling. He almost sent the thought as a text, but he couldn’t explain it. It was probably nothing, except… his instincts were rarely wrong. He bit his lip, but another text from BT made up his mind for him.

            **_Plz hrry. Comp is important._**

            With a shaky breath he looked around the room, making sure the door was still shut tight, and plugged in the transmitter. Baby said it would take seven minutes exactly to work, and then he needed to unplug the device and get out as soon as he could. The teen watched with nervous anticipation as one of the girls, probably Tooth, hacked into the computer, copying file after file as the transmitter downloaded itself. Suddenly the boy froze, Pitch had a file labeled Guardians. He paused and glanced around the room, but there was still four minutes to go and there was no sound from the hallway. With bated breath he clicked the link, panic rising in his chest as he read. Pitch had so much dirt, on all of them!

            North used to be a bandit in Russia, Sandy had trained to be an astronaut before becoming a chemist, Bunny had once had a whole gang that was whipped out in one fell swoop. Pitch had real names, birth certificates, school records, everything on each one of them and, as Jack scrolled, he made it to the end of Tooth’s section, and below it was a page with a single heading. “Jack Frost”.

            Heart beating out of his chest the teen glanced at a clock. Minute thirty left. Plenty of time to just look, skin over, see what the man had uncovered. As he moved his hand to the mouse, ringer heading to the scroll pad, but before the screen could move two large hands gripped his arms, throwing him out of his chair and practically tossing him to the ground as another hand pulled out the transmitter 55 seconds before it could take full effect.

            With a yell Jack struggled against the arms, but his strengths lie in dodging and evading, not this manhandling and brute strength. The men only had to smash his face in the ground once to make him stop his useless struggles. His forehead bleeding and fighting ceased, the boy was pulled up to stand. His eyes darted to the door, but the can was in the same place, and Pitch was standing next to a hole where the bookcase used to be. Jack smirked, the look made gruesome by the blood dripping down his face. “Really? A secret doorway behind the bookshelf, someone’s bee watching too many cartoons. Could you get any more predictable?”

            “Funny,” Pitch said with an easy smirk. “You didn’t seem to see it coming.”

            Jack rolled his eyes. “Didn’t think you’d be so lame.”

            Pitch clicked his tongue and suddenly one of the four hands gripping Jack’s arms had transformed into a fist plowing into his stomach, leaching the boy groaning and gasping for breath. Pitch said nothing until the boy caught his breath and Jack looked up with a glare as his gasps receded. “Wow, now you’re having minion do your dirty work. What’s next, gonna suspend me over a pit of sharks, strap me to a table with a laser?”

            “No, but I hope you’ll forgive me if I monologue a bit.”

            “Great,” Jack murmured, “He only does the boring villain stuff.” The teen was rewarded with a fist smashing across his face for that.

            Pitch just tutted unapprovingly at him. “It’s your own fault Jack. You wouldn’t have to listen to boring old me if you hadn’t been so stupid. My helper knew the instant you started hacking the computer that you were here, in this room. You really didn’t have a chance once you plugged your silly little transmitter in. Poor Jack Frost you-“ The man’s words were cut off by a buzzing sound coming from Jack’s pocket. “Oh? What’s this?”

            The man reached in to pull the phone out, putting himself within range of the teen’s, still free, legs. Immediately the boy lashed out, and had the man moved a millisecond later, Pitch would be speaking in a much higher, uh, pitch. The nightmare kind looked disappointed at the boy and snapped his fingers, prompting his lackey to descend upon the fair teen as the man slowly read the text. By the time Pitch finally snapped his fingers again, Jack had a split lip, black eye, bruised rib, and his ankle was throbbing again, not to mention the litany of bruises that surrounded his body other places.

            “Well well, what’s this. ‘what happened? Transmitter taken out too soon.’” The man purposely left of the question of Jack’s wellbeing tacked to the end of the message. “What shall I reply? Hmm? Do you think if I simply put ‘ran into trouble, had to stop’ anyone would get suspicious? Would anyone care enough to ask what happened? More to the point, would anyone really be surprised that you failed?”

            Jack gave no reply and the dark clothed man shrugged. “Well then, let’s see.” He sent the message, and the reply came shooting back. **_BE SAFE_**. Black looked at the message and tsked. “Don’t you just hate when they respond with K. So annoying.”

            “Not as annoying as you.” Jack responded, once more getting a fist to the stomach for his efforts.

            “It’s sad, isn’t it Jack? Your dear teammates not only sent you on a suicide mission, but they aren’t the least bit surprised that you failed. You were doomed from the instant you touched my computer and- oh look” The man said with pleasant surprise as he read through Jack’s previous messages. “It seems you’d already suspected that.” Pitch read to the first texts of the night, the one calling the boy to the guardian headquarters, before slipping the phone into Jack’s pocket, the strong arms of the muscle men keeping the boy from reaching it himself.

            “They didn’t send me here.” Jack protested hotly, “I was happy to go.”

            One of the henchmen raised a brow and Black nodded, the last thing Jack saw before an ear ringing slap instinctually shut his eyes. “Really Frost, it’s like you don’t understand the term monologuing. I know you don’t have much schooling so I’ll explain it carefully. One person, that’s me, talks while everyone else, that’s you, shuts up and listens. Why would a boy like you choose to come, especially when so very, very scared.”

            “I’m not afraid of you!” Jack spat, and rather than another stab of pain from the henchmen, Jack’s tenacity was rewarded with a close up view of Pitch’s face as the man spoke directly into his ear, the wisps of air from his breath causing the boy to shudder involuntarily.

            “I never said you were afraid of me, boy.” He stood straight and nodded at the men before leaving the room, kicking the can out of his way with a smirk of Jack as he left. The men followed, dragging Jack behind them. “You see, that’s my specialty. I can look at someone and know their fears, sense what keeps them up at night and what their nightmares are filled with.”

            “I bet that makes for lot’s of fun at parties. Wanna come to my Halloween bash next year? All my friends are invited.”

            “Would be a rather boring party with just the two of us.”

            Jack couldn’t respond for a moment. Yeah, he’d kinda given the man that one. “That’s okay, your friends Ugly and Smelly can come too. What do you say boys?”

            Neither gave a reply and Pitch just fixed Jack with a steely glare. “You for instance fear silence.”

            “Silence? Oh yeah, cause the quiet is so terrifying and-“ Without warning a fist rammed into the boy’s gut, cutting off his sarcastic remarks.

         “Yes, silence. Because in the quiet you are left to you thoughts, to think. You cannot stand being still and silent, for it makes your mind wander, wander into places you never wanted to go.” Jack’s desperate gasps were the only reply.

            “And what kind of thoughts are those? Thoughts of fear and desperation and longing, desperately wanting what you know you could never have, what could never, will never be given to you. Love.” The man spat the word like a curse before his tone became buttery rich once more. “But not even romantic love, oh no. That is more than a loveless boy like yourself could ever even begin to hope for. No, what you want is the love of a family, a friend, someone to make you feel safe and to push the loneliness away. Someone to turn to when you feel like you don’t exist, like nothing would change if you just disappeared. You fear because people look right through you, like you don’t exist, like you’re a myth a fairy tale. You fear that life will always be like that and worse!” He touched one finger to Jack’s head where it sat on his shoulders, empty of memories. “You fear that you’ll never know why, that you will never find out why you have to be always alone!”

            His voice had been steadily rising in volume and passion, but at this proclamation he lowered it once more. “Because that’s what you fear the most isn’t it? Being alone, forever alone and longing to see just one person who will be happy to see Jack Frost, but never finding anyone. Well, let me put your mind to rest on one thing. You. Never. Will. Who would ever be happy to see Jack Frost, the boy who makes a mess everywhere he goes? Why you’re making one right now, talking to me. The Guardians will never get through to my computer and it’s all your fault, all because you messed up. You think they’d ever be happy to see you, you think you could ever call one of them your friend, your family, don’t make me laugh. They’re only following orders. Listening to the great and powerful Man in the Moon until they’ve stuck me in jail and can finally get rid of you. One of them hates you already, the rest couldn’t be more indifferent, you know that. Any concern they have any worry, it’s not for you it’s for their mission. It’s always, always the mission and never Jack Frost.”

            “And those FBI agent’s you’ve been spending sooo much time with. Do you really think they’d be doing this, any of this, if they didn’t need to get in your good graces. After all, it only took a cup of coco and some snacks before you practically gave them your information on the guardians. Will a dinner party get them free intel, can they know everything that’s going on around town just be pretending to care for the poor little loveless street kid. And oh, they’ve been so nice recently haven’t they?” By now the group had stopped next to a set of doors, but Pitch continued to rant, striking Jack speechless as his inner thoughts and fears were laid bare.

            “They’ve been offering their homes, food, money, time. It almost seems like they care, but they don’t. Not about you anyway. All they want is for this investigation to run smoothly, and for you to be content with their asking price. After all, a bit of food, a roof, and some false kind words in little compared to the criminal they’d catch. Nobody cares. No one care about Jack Frost, and you know it, and you fear it.”

            Suddenly his face seemed to split in two, such was the size of his manic grin. “Oh yes, one final thing,” he said, one hand slipping the boy’s phone back into his pocket as the other gripped the door handle. The henchmen tightened their hold on Jack to bruising force, tensing. “You’re also afraid of water.”

            He threw open the doors to reveal turning waves and a land of ice, salt and liquid. Jack felt a moment of weightlessness before water covered him, enveloping his scream.

 


	17. Aquainted with the Night

“It’s funny how every time I come into town I just happen to stumble into an investigation involving you and Peter.” Alex said with a pointed glare, the delicious dinner doing little to butter her up.

            “What can I say, we keep busy.”

            “I’m sure.”

            “Look Alex, I’m not kidding. This guy is bad news. He’s not just calling in forgers and conmen and thieves. He’s got murderers, rapists, kidnappers, everything. From what I hear, he is not the kind of person you want to be working with, no matter what price he’s willing to pay.”

            “Neal, you have to understand that- “The woman’s words were cut off by a tentative knock at the door. The woman cast Neal an irritated glance. “Your pet Fed again?”

            “No,” The man said quickly. “Peter doesn’t bother knocking anymore.”

            “Then who is that?”

            “I don’t know.” The man replied grimly. Alex cast the door a suspicious glare before standing out of her seat and slipping out of her dress until only her slip remained.

            “I’m starting to think you do this on purpose whenever I come over. Trying to send me a message Neal?”

            “Must be fate.” The man replied with a teasing grin, unbuttoning his shirt with one hand while messing up his hair with the other. He slid up to the door just as the woman lay down over the bed. He shot the girl one more glance before opening the door just enough to poke his head through. His breathy “Yeah?” died on his lips when he caught sight of the figure behind the door. “Jack?”

            His eyes subconsciously shot to the spot on the terrace the teen usually arrived at, as though expecting the youth in front of him to disappear and show up in his usual spot. It wasn’t until the man’s eyes once again returned to the skinny boy that he really took in the child’s state.

            Jack was shivering violently, almost convulsing. He was sopping wet, hair sticking up in frozen clumps while a slight sheen of ice made a second layer over his skin. Dark rings surrounded his eyes and bruises marred his pale face.

            The conman cursed vehemently before beckoning the boy inside. “Jack get in here, what happened?”

            The teen, still shaking, managed to make his way through the open door. The boy attempted to speak through chattering teeth, but before he could say a word Alex shot off the bed, her eyes blown wide in surprise as she cursed. 

            The teen turned to the voice, what little blood remained in his face draining out as the saw the stranger, but as he took in her attire, or lack thereof, and Neal’s disheveled state his face began to turn red behind the rosy purple of his frozen skin. “Oh.” He said dumbly, “I uh, s-sorry.” He began turning to the door. “S-sorry. Din’t think- you’re b-busy. Don’ let me i-innerupt.”

           “Jack stop.” Neal commanded, grabbing the crook of the teen’s arm. “Your fine, you didn’t interrupt anything.”

            A cheeky grin somehow made its way onto the shaking boy’s face. “Oh, I th-think I d-d-d-did.”

            “It’s not important.” Alex said quickly, pulling her dress back over her head, though more for Jack’s comfort than hers.

            “Right.” Neal agreed with a nod as he began tugging at Jack’s soaked coat. “What’s important is keeping you from getting hypothermia. Alex, can you start a shower? Lukewarm-“

            “No!” Jack said quickly, seeming too shiver even more. “P-please no more water. I-I don’t li-like- Please.” The two adults shared a glace before Alex turned back to the bathroom.

            “I’ll at least get some towels to dry him off.”

            “Thermostats on the wall over there, crank it up would you?”

            The woman hummed in agreement, hurrying to get the towels as soon as she could. When she got back Neal was struggling to get the soaked to the skin T-shirt off of the frozen teen. Neal took the towels gratefully. “Can you go ask June for some extra blankets, and see if you can get her maid to cook something fast and hot.”

            “What- Neal! This kid needs to be in the hospital.”

            “N-n-no!” Jack all but shouted and Neal ran a towel over his sopping hair soothingly in attempt to calm him even as Jack dried his torso.

            “No hospital, not unless he's about to lose something important. Go find June, I can handle things in here for the now.” Neal winced as Jack moved the towel from his front to his back, revealing a litany of new bruises. That sight however seemed to spur the conwoman into action, and Alex hurried out the door. By the time she came back Jack’s clothes and the towels were all in the washer and Jack was on the bed nestled into a cocoon of blankets still looking miserable. However the shaking had gone down considerably and the boy’s face lit up at the sight of the bowl of soup Alex carried in one hand, the other occupied with a pile of blankets.

            Neal was taking a cup of steaming water out of the microwave, a packet of calming tea already in hand. Jack struggled from his cocoon into a sitting position as the pair of thieves approached with their steamy offerings. “T-thank goodness. I’m starv-ving.” The boy exclaimed, leaning out to grab the soup and place it on his lap, the tea going onto a bedside table.

            Neal looked to the teen’s off colored fingers with concern. “Should we get him gloves or something, make sure they’re warm. People can lose fingers to frostbite really easily.”

            Jack shook his head and shrugged, slurping up a spoonful of food. “If it didn’t happen last time, it won’t happen this time.” He said, almost to himself.

            Alex looked confused, but Neal spoke before she could ask anything. “Are you okay?”

            “Yeah, nothing worse than a few bruises. I’ll be fine.”

            “What happened?”

            “And why are hospitals off limits to the underage minor?” Alex asked pointedly.

            "Redundant." Jack mumbled. 

            The conman sighed. “Alex, meet Jack Frost, one of New York’s best pick pockets. Jack, meet Alex Hunter, one of the best thieves I know.”

            “Sup?” Jack said, grin in place despite everything.

            “Sup?” The woman replied tentatively. “So?”

            “I’ve been living on my own for a while now.” Jack replied before Neal could say anything. “And I’d kinda like to keep it that way. Plus no healthcare.”

            “And I’m sure you have a completely legal story for how this all happened.” Neal inserted wryly.

            “Now why would you care about something like that.”

            Neal rolled his eyes. “So let’s hear it. I’m guessing this all started with the job you left my place for.”

            “Yeah, the job. It was a trap. Some magic computer man set it up so that they’d know if anything was plugged into his computer, so when I tied to copy his files… well, let’s just say between the goons , secret passageway, and monologue I can safely conclude that Pitch has watched way too many Saturday Morning cartoons.”

            “Pitch?” Came Alex’s incredulous voice. “Pitch Black, the guy you called me here to warn me against.”

            “Yes.” Neal said grimly.

            “Uh-huh.” The woman replied, voice skeptical. “Because you're the kind of person whod send a twelve year old into a den of rapists and murderers to get something. 

            "Twelve!" Jack exclaimed with a disgusted look. 

            “I didn’t. The Gua-“

            “Neal!” Jack interrupted sharply. “Just because I told you guys, doesn’t mean that the entire world has to know.”

            “Alex can know. She’s trustworthy, and a friend.” The woman looked up sharply at the title, still angry at the man, but knew better than to argue.

            Jack said nothing for a long while, then he snorted. “Fine. You’d tell her the instant I fell asleep anyways.”

            “Jack Frost is the newest member of the Guardians.”

            Alex stood unimpressed for a moment, one skeptical brow raised until the name finally connected in her mind. Then she snorted. “You really expect me to believe that?”

            “It’s true, look.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, flipping through the pictures on it until he finally came to the one he wanted. He grinned as he hefted the picture, knowing that Alex would be just as excited as he had been seeing legends brought to life. “Found this a couple of weeks ago.” On the screen there was the half folded canvas of the picture, folded over so that the Easter egg was in full view. Jack craned his head to see it and groaned, settling down into his bed.

            “Bun Bun’s going to be rubbing this in my face forever. I was so adamant I wasn’t going to mess this one up.” He grumbled into his pillow, eyes drooping as he snuggled down into the bed.

            Alex snorted. “You were almost killed and that’s what you’re worried about?”

            “Wouldn’t have died. He didn’t want to kill me, just scare me. He likes doin’ that, scaring people. Says it’s his talent. I don’ like water, ‘e figured that out ‘n used i’.”

            “What did he do?”

            Jack mumbled a reply into his pillow, but by then he was much too far gone to be heard or understood. Neal sighed and motioned for Alex to move away from the bed. “Let him sleep. Kid’s been through enough today. You see what I was talking about now.”

            “Yeah,” the woman replied certainly. “Which is why I need to call him back and accept.”

            “You would really work with someone who would do that to a kid?”

            “No, but I’d work against him. Look,” The woman began, tone that of someone who was not accustomed to being ignored. “You promise you can get me out of there without your pet agent causing trouble for me, I’ll tell you everything that happens in the Nightmares.”

            Neal nodded. “Word might get back to Jack and the Guardians, and they’re more determined to take Pitch down than the rest of us combined. Watch out for them.”

            “I’m a big girl Neal.” The woman said as she began to gather her stuff and slip on her shoes. “I can handle myself.”

            “Just, remember that there are some pretty dangerous men there, and they won’t be happy if they discover you’re a double agent. Stay safe.”

            Alex smirked back at him but otherwise gave no reply as she sauntered out the door. Neal watched her go with a sigh, shifting his gaze to the sleeping Jack as the door clicked closed. He had some calls to make.

* * *

 

  Aster growled to himself as he paced the spare room above North’s workshop. They’d waited for hours the night before, but Jack had never returned. Finally they’d set up a Phil as a guard and went to bed, telling him to wake them the instant he saw the boy. But now it was past nine, and the teen had never showed. He knew they shouldn’t have trusted something like that to the boy, he knew it. But had anyone listened to him? No. And now the kid was gone, probably lying dead in a ditch by now or something.

            He’d had a bad feeling when Jack asked if they really needed the computer, they all had, but they had put the information first and now the kid was missing and- argh. Forget it, he was calling the frostbite.

* * *

 

            Neal sighed as he hung up the phone, telling Peter that he would be running late. He looked to Jack’s sleeping form and bit back another sigh. The boy’s face was pale and his cheeks flushed, and a low rasping sound came with his every breath that wasn’t a sniffle or couch. The conman was far from surprised that the child had gotten so sick, but it didn’t make the situation any easier to deal with. June was spending the day with her family, so Neal was stuck waiting for Mozzy and watching the sleeping child’s labored breaths.

            The criminal glanced at his phone with a scowl, a picture of the ill boy covering the screen. They had been holding off meeting with the people in the files Diana had found for weeks, trying to get a picture of the boy. After all, who knew what name Jack had gone by before? They hadn’t had much luck in getting the picture, however. They had seldom done anything picture worthy, and any excuses to take his picture had fallen flat, not that the boy ever seemed to notice that they wanted a picture. As for candid shots, the boy was almost never still, always a constant ball of motion and energy. This was the first time he’d been still enough to take a shot.

            Neal scowled. He didn’t like it, if fact, he hated it. Jack’s cheeks were pale and flush at the same time, small cuts and scratches littered his face and bright bruises marred half of his head. Most of all the boy was much too still, too motionless, it just wasn’t Jack. The man closed his phone in disgust before his eyes lingered on his sketchpad. He had to wait for Mozzy anyway. The man grabbed the pad and began to draw the right picture, one where Jack was whole and healthy, smiling that mischievous grin as his eyes shone with vitality. Inspiration seemed to flow from his fingertips, slowing only when Jack’s feeble coughs brought the man out of his creative fog. Neal leaned over and ran a gentle hand over sweat soaked hair as he replaced the wet cloth on the child’s head, wondering what the boy had done when sick on the streets.

            He had just stood to get refill the bowl of water for the rag when a low buzzing sounded from the bowl of dry rice on the counter. Neal wasted no time reaching into the bowl to pull out Jack’s severely waterlogged cell phone, screen unreadable beside the blurred green dot at the center bottom of the screen. The man pressed the button but had barely gotten the phone to his ear before the yelling started.

* * *

 

Fury ran through Aster’s mind when the phone picked up. Here he was, scared to death that the kid had gotten himself hurt, when really the little brat was just too lazy to pick up the phone or return to the warehouse. “Jack ya bloody- what part of contact us as soon as possible don’t you understand? I know the little Sheila told ya about it, we’ve been waiting to hear from you all night and you can’t even bother to call. Ya weren’t able to connect the transmitter long enough and now you can’t even pick up a bloody phone? Can you do anything right at all?

            “I told you it was a bad idea for you to go on that mission, I told ya! But you just couldn’t listen could you, and now everything’s messed up. Why, I ought to-“

            “Hey there.” An unfamiliar, deceptively charming voice interrupted. Bunnymund faltered in his rant.

            “Who‘re you?”

            “The name’s Neal Cafferey, I’m sure you’ve heard of me.” Bunnymund froze. Of course he’d heard of him, this was one of the men after them. “Jack can’t come to the phone right now, but I would like to inform you that if I ever see him in a state half as bad as this ever again because of you people, then you had better count and love absolutely every second of freedom you have left, because there won’t be many.”

            Bunnymund’s heart dropped. Jack was hurt? What happened? Before he could say anything in reply another, weak and scratchy, voice sounded from the other side of the phone.

            “Neal?” The voice coughed, “issat my phone? G- cough- give it back.”

            And the line died, leaving Bunnymund to stare at his phone in horror. “Tooth!” He called running back through the halls. “Sandy! North! I know where Jack is.”

* * *

 

  Jack began struggling out of his cocoon of blankets, his movements made slow and sluggish as he struggled to breathe through an inflamed throat and clogged nose. A feeble hand reached out to wrestle the cell away from the conman, only to blink in slow, dumb surprise as the phone landed on his lap.

            “Here you go.” The man said, smirking at the incomprehensible look on the boy’s face. Jack scrambled to see the screen, only for his face to fall when he saw that the call had ended.

            “Who was it?” He asked, shocked at how bad his voice sounded.

            “His name didn’t exactly come up.”

            “Did- cough- did he sound grumpy?” The boy asked before sniffling loudly in a vain attempt at clearing his nose.

            “A bit.” Neal allowed a small smile despite the irritation he felt at the so called Guardians and handed the boy a tissue.

            “Prolly the Easter Bunny then.” Jack replied before letting lose with a honking sneeze that was little help with his nose, evidenced by the sniffles that continued to sound. Neal placed a small trashcan beside the bed and Jack dropped the used Kleenex in, shooting it a glare for being so unhelpful. With a yawn he picked up the phone, only to scowl at the horribly muddled screen.

            “What di’ you do ta my phone?”

            “I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who took a swim with it.”

            Jack crossed his arms and pouted. “Wasn’t exactly my idea.”

            “Oh? So what did happen? You weren’t exactly forthcoming last night.”

            Jack moaned and flopped down onto the bed, massaging his throat with one hand until Neal placed a glass of hot tea in the other. The teen took several large gulps before answering. “I won’t have to tell Peter this in an interrogation room later, will I?”

            “Depends, do you have anything that would help the case?”

            “I know where Big-Bad-and-Scary is, but it won’t do much good unless you want to check for gun permits or something. According to Ba- my informant- on the outside it looks completely normal.” The boy sneezed into cupped hands, looking disgusted as he reached for one of the tissues by the bedside table.

            Neal gave the boy a sympathetic glace but decided that the teen would rather talk business than listen to pity. “Still, I guess it’d be better to wait for Peter then. Just, you’re alright, right?”

            “Yeah,” The boy said stuffily. “I’ll be fine, just wanna nap.”

            The conman smiled at him. “Alright. I won’t be here when you wake up though. I have to go to work, but Moz’ll be here.”

            “Ugh,” the pickpocket groaned. “No school today, I’m calling in sick.”

            Neal chuckled. “No school. He’s just coming in to make sure you’re okay.”

            “I’ve been sick before, I can handle myself.”

            “Try telling that to Moz. I swear I’ve never met a worse mother hen.”

            “As long as Elizabeth doesn’t know. She hovers enough when I’m well.”

            “I don’t know, I just told Peter you’re sick after all.”

            “Oh no, both of them? I’m going to die.”

            “At least you’ll probably get Elizabeth’s chicken soup instead of Mozzie’s. Trust me, that’s a blessing.”

            Jack chuckled, but the laughter turned to coughs that just made that nap seem even nicer, and soon enough his eyes were slipping closed and his raspy breathing evened out to the breath of one deep in sleep.  


	18. Fragmentary Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have realized I talk about food way too much in this story... really, if you reread it and just focus on food, it's like, EVERYWHERE!!!

“How is he?” Peter’s first words to Neal sounded as the man sat at his desk.

            “Pretty sick, but he was sleeping when I left. Between Mozz and Elizabeth he should be back on his feet in no time.” Peter nodded, but the worry didn’t leave his expression. Neal smirked softly at the man. “Good news is, I finally got a picture.” The small smile dropped. “But I don’t think you really want to see it.”

            Peter said nothing, only holding out his hand for the phone. Neal shook his head and showed his sketchbook, a grinning Jack peering out from the open page. “I made a better one.” He said with a warm smile, tone just proud enough that it seemed like a genuine declaration rather than a distraction. However, Peter knew better.

            “Phone.”

            Neal sighed but dutifully handed it to his handler, wincing as he did so. Peter’s expression only deepened as he gazed at the pitiful looking lad. Finally the man slammed the phone onto Neal’s desk with a growl. “I don’t care who they are, they shouldn’t have put Jack into a position like that. He’s too young for this kind of thing.”

            Neal sighed, but couldn’t help offering a counter point. “I know Peter, trust me I know, but we can’t completely blame them.”

            “Oh yeah, watch me.”

            “Peter, I know you’re mad, but think about it. Jack’s capable, smart, and way too determined to prove himself. He makes it easy to forget he’s just a kid. He probably jumped at the chance.”

            “Yeah, but see Neal, no matter how capable he is, he’s still just a kid. It’s the adult’s job to realize that and keep him from doing something stupid, not send him in to poke at the hornet’s nest. You see, kids can’t make long term, dangerous decisions like these. That’s why they still have parents, to take care of them. Jack acts like he can handle himself, but he’s only fifteen, he isn’t ready for responsibility like that. And when someone can’t take care of themselves someone else has to do it. That’s why you’re on that anklet.”

            “Yeah yeah, I made bad decision in my life, I get it. Anyway, I’m sitting here with a drawing better than any picture we could get and Jack won’t be around town to catch us. Are we making some visits during lunch break today.”

            Peter nodded before frowning slightly. “Elizabeth cancelled on me when she heard Jack was sick anyway. I’m free. I’ll get Diana to make some calls, make sure they know we’re coming.”

            “Great! Can’t wait to figure out who this kid really is.”

* * *

 

    “I don’t wan the medithine.” Jack moaned through his stuffy nose, hiking the blanket up over his head.

            Mozzy huffed, torn between being glad that Jack was no longer the limp and weak soul he’d been when the man arrived, and being irritated by the teen’s complaining. Jack was, unsurprisingly, a horrible patient.

            “Come on Jack, just one swallow and it’ll be done.”

            “Tastes bad.”

            “Your nose is stuffed, you can’t taste anything.”

            “I c’n taste that.”

            “It’ll make you feel better.” The man said, futilely attempting to balance the full spoon and tug the blanket off the boy.

            “Ne’er used it ‘fore”

            “And how long did it take you to get better before.” No reply came from under the blanket. “Jack.” The man implored, his voice gaining a begging tone. Give him a safe to break into and he could break in no problem, maximum security, completely easy, but getting a spoonful of, admittedly horrible, grape flavored medicinal syrup down this boy’s throat was working at all of his skill.

            “Come on Jack, a sick pickpocket is a pickpocket without work.”

            “No’ twu!” The boy argued. “Nobody wan’s ta take a secon’ look at ya if yer sick.”

            Mozy scowled but was unable to argue. “Just take the medicine!”

            “No!”

            Mozzie rolled his eyes, but decided that at that point he would have to resort to tricking the teen. He straightened, but as he stepped towards the small kitchen a knock sounded on the door. “That better be Elizabeth.” The man grumbles, sighing in relief when his guess was proven right.

            “Thank goodness you’re here. Jack refuses to take his medicine.”

            “Tastes bad!”

            “Oh?” The woman said, taking the spoon and bottle from Mozzy and making her way to the bed, reading over the label. “Oh, Jack doesn’t have to take this.”

            Immediately the boy ripped the blanket off, revealing a flushed and shocked, but ecstatic face. “Reall-ack!” The boy exclaimed as the spoon was dumped onto his tongue. The boy choked for a second, attempting to rid his mouth of the foul taste, but the damage was already done.

            “Was that so bad?” the woman asked, her eyes wide an innocent despite the smirk on her lips.

            “No fair!” The boy managed, but couldn’t help a small smile for the woman who had managed to pull one over on him. “coulda least pu’ it in spoonful of sugar like the movie.”

            “If you behave maybe we can put it in something later.”

            “Well tha’s not gonna happen,” Jack replied easily, unthinkingly.

            Elizabeth and Mozzy rolled their eyes. “We know.” They chorused.

            The teen grinned back before erupting into a coughing fit, reaching for a tissue to sneeze in when it ended. His next words were clearer with his cleared nose, but a hint of stuffiness came into his voice as he spoke. “Hey, where’s my soup? Neal promised me soup.”

            Elizabeth smirked. “Got the ingredients right here.” She said, hefting the bags she’d dropped as she entered.

            “Yum,” the boy said, snuggling into the bed. Shooting them an ‘aren’t I spoiled’ glance that was ruined by a coughing fit. He shot the two adults an apologetic glance before sighing deeply into the blankets with his eyes blinking sleepily, tired out by the conversation.

            Elizabeth and Mozz shot the teen sympathetic looks and the woman shifted the plastic bags noisily in her grip. “Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll wake you when I’m done.”

            “’mmkay.” Jack responded with a yawn, crystalline eyes blinking closed.

* * *

 

 

            Neal grimaced as he finished the last of his grease- saturated, overly salted fries. Peter grinned at the man from behind his double burger. “Suck it up, meeting during lunch today was your idea. With the time limit it was this or nothing.”

            “I’m starting to think nothing would have been the better option.” The high class man responded as he lifted his own drooping sandwich.

            “Yeah yeah, shut up and enjoy some classic American cuisine.” The man replied, taking a large bite of his sandwhich and causing a glob of mayo to slide out.

            Neal grimaced. “I think I remembered why I liked traveling abroad so much.”

            “You sure it isn’t just because you didn’t have to deal with me as much?”

            “You give yourself too much credit.” Neal snorted before allowing a wry grin. “Although getting you off of my back did add to the allure.” Peter grinned and took a large slurp out of his coke in a cardboard cup. “So,” Neal began, “Where we going first? Before or after his winter swim.”

            “After. We might have a better chance with them if he’s fresh in their minds. We contacted the case worker assigned to him and we’re going there first. If we have time we could go to the last house he stayed in afterwards and see if they rememberz

anything significant about his disappearance.”

            “Sounds good.” Neal said idly, slurping the last of his drink.

            Little else was said as the duo pulled up to the desired apartment, Neal hanging back a step as Peter rang the bell to be let in.

            “Hello?” A voice sounded from the buzzer.

            “This is Peter Burke. I called earlier?”

            “Oh good. Come on up.” With a buzz and a click the door unlocked, prompting Peter and Neal to go in to find the correct room.

            A woman was waiting in the doorway when they arrived, her hair in a tight bun and a file in her hands. She didn’t look up from the file until the men where nearly upon her, when she closed it to look up at them with a tight smile. “Agent Peter Burke,” she greeted, nervous tension from talking with an FBI agent in her voice and stance. “And you’re Agent Neal Caffrey?”

            “He’s not an agent.” Peter replied unthinkingly, immediately. Neal scoffed, but just smiled at the woman charmingly.

            “Do I really look like an agent?” He asked with a devilish smirk.

            The young woman smiled back. “No, I guess not.”

            Peter sighed and mumbled, “Why does everyone say that?” Before raising his voice to speak. “We’d like to talk to you about one of the children you worked with.”

            “Come on in,” She said, leading them to a collection of couches surrounding a coffee table brimming with papers. “So, I’ve worked with a lot of kids. Who is this about?”

            “Do you remember a boy named Jack Frost?” Peter asked, taking the lead.

            The woman gave him an incredulous look. “No. And I think I’d remember a name like that.”

            “Well, I guess that answers one question.” Peter said, sharing a look with Neal. “He must have given himself the name later.”

           “Good thing I brought this!” Neal responded, hefting up his sketchbook. “Do you remember this kid?” He asked, showing his drawing of Jack.

            “Oh, John!” She exclaimed, surprised.

           “John?” Peter asked.

            “Well, we didn’t exactly know his real name, or anything about him, so he got stuck as John Doe.”

            “And you actually called him that?” Neal asked incredulous.

            “He didn’t exactly give us any other name. What’s this all about? You didn’t find his- he’s not dead or anything is he?”

            “No, no.” Peter was quick to reassure her. “I’m not sure how much you know about where he is now, but we found him living on the streets, snatching wallets.”

            “He’s really good at it.” Neal cut in. Peter ignored him as he continued.

            “He’s been staying at our houses for the past few days, but he’s been fairly tight lipped. We just wanted to see if we could learn more about him. How well do you remember John?”

            The woman sighed and finally set down the file she’d been holding. “I remember him pretty well, he was the first child I placed in a home. Got him not long after graduating. I was working at a group home at the time and normally they would have wanted me to get some more experience before actually giving me a child to look after, but no one else working there was exactly jumping at the chance to place him, so I got the opportunity.”

            “Why not?”

            “He was a flight risk, a runner. We aren’t sure about his past before he was found hypothermic and half-drowned, but whatever it was he was obviously a runaway. There were no notices out missing him, either from homes or foster families, and he was all alone. And it was obvious from the start that he wasn’t suited for foster homes, that he wouldn’t like it. He just, he always seemed to be searching for something, determined to find it and extremely independent. No one wanted to take care of a kid they knew would just run away.” A small fond smile crossed over her mouth. “They gave him less than a month, I was lucky I was able to keep him in the system as long as I did.”

            “You kept him in?” Neal asked.

            “Kind of. John… he really loved children, he was great with them.” Neal immediately nodded, having seen for himself. Peter nodded as well, his mind on the stories Neal told him. “The first time I went to the hospital he was staying at, he wasn’t in his room. He’d snuck out and was telling stories in the children’s section. It gave me the idea. When I placed him, I made sure to put him in a home that already had a couple of little kids in it. At first he was staying to get to know the kids, and then he just couldn’t bear to leave them. Whenever he had to change houses for whatever reason, I would make sure the new home had at least one child between the ages of 2 and 10. As long as I did that, he would stay.”

            “What changed?” Peter asked. The woman sighed heavily.

            “It wasn’t always easy finding homes with kids in it to place John. When a home was willing to take on several kids, we tried to put sibling groups together. When he left John was staying at a home that was already fairly cramped. They could fit one more kid if they had to, but no more. I called the family to ask if they could possibly fit two, but they were packed. The kids would have to be separated. John must have overheard, because the next morning he was gone, leaving only a note behind: My bed is big enough for two.

            “I told the police and they put out a missing person report and promised to keep an eye out, but he was never found. I never even heard what happened to him after that until today.”

            “Is there anything else you can tell us?”

            “About what? If he’s really staying with you willingly, then you probably know him better than I did.”

            “It’s not as peaceful as you think.” Peter argued. “We can’t always get him to stay.”

            Neal nodded. “Right now he’s happy enough spending the night at my place or Peter’s but in summer when it warms enough, I’m not so sure he won’t be back on the streets.”

            The woman seemed to think, her fingers lightly dancing through the pages of the files. Finally she spoke. “If I could think of anything, it would be… don’t make him choose.”

            “What do you mean?” Peter asked with a frown.

            “John was always independent, a free spirit, and I would think that living alone for so long would only make that worse. He seemed used to moving, changing his way of life every so often. I think I you make him choose one house, it would just make it that much easier for him to leave both. Also… this is a transitional time for him. I would… would almost expect him to want to disappear every so often. He’s used to his freedom, and it will be strange for a while for him to be held accountable. But like I said, if he’s choosing to stay with you, then you’re obviously doing something right.  

           

* * *

 

 

            “Jack, give me the thermometer!” Mozzy yelled, reaching through the final pillowcase and coming up empty. Hours after the medicine incident, Jack’s usual mood of snowballs and fun times had turned into snowstorms and avalanches, any playfulness from earlier that day gone.

            “I’m bedridden! And you’ve checked the bed I’m ridden in!”

            “Come on kid, I know you’re smart enough to find a better place to hide it.”

            “Then you’d better be smart enough to find a better place to look.” Jack answered immediately.

            “Jack!” Elizabeth yelled, surprised at his cheek. Jack ignored her and continued to glare at Mozzy.

            “You just took my temperature, you don’t have to take it again, nothing changed in the last 20 minutes.”

            “It’s been two hours!” The man yelled back.

            Jack huffed, turning away from the man and towards the wall with a growl. Mozzy continued his search as Elizabeth sighed from where she was pouring the boy a glass of sprite. Jack fidgeted from where he lay on the bed, finally giving up on getting comfortable and pulling himself off the mattress just as Mozzy let out a triumphant ‘found it’ from under the bed.

            “Jack!” The woman acknowledge as the boy fell into a coughing fit from the movement. “You should still be laying down.”

            The teen shot the woman a grumpy glare. “Let be get up to go to the bathroom or something. I can’t take laying down anymore. Stop hovering!” He finally shouted, lurching to the bathroom on unsteady legs.

            “We’re just trying to help you get better,” The woman attempted to comfort, following behind the weak boy. “That’s what people do when they care about you.”

            “Well I wouldn’t know about that, would I?” The boy asked with a yell as he slammed the door closed behind him. For a moment neither Elizabeth nor Mozzy could move, staring at the bathroom door in shock. Finally after a moment it opened, a sheepish looking Jack peeking out. “Sorry, that was… uncalled for.” He mumbled, making his way silently to the bed.

            “Jack…” Elizabeth began, sitting down on the end of the bed.

            “No, I really am sorry, I just-I-“ The teen sighed, he hated talking about serious-like things. He knew he couldn’t find the right words to really express what he wanted to say. He couldn’t explain how sick and tired he was of being indoors. It was grating but tolerable spending all day inside when he was learning from Mozz, but now he was practically chained to a bed. It was like he was being locked into a smaller and smaller cage and he was getting all this _attention_ that he wasn’t used to and he hated it. But the worst thing was, he could remember getting sick on the streets, depleting most of his money to get a hotel room and some decent food. He could remember watching horrible daytime television alone and dreaming for a mom who was annoyingly overprotective of her sick child. He was getting a taste of what he’d wanted for so long, but it was so different, so grating, that he couldn’t even enjoy it.

            And it could have been the fever talking, but a voice inside his mind kept on pointing this out, showing him that he was used to families, poking hints that maybe that was why he was all alone. Maybe Jack was just meant to be alone.

            How was he supposed to say something like that, how was he supposed to explain? It turns out he didn’t need to. Elizabeth shushed him gently and sat by the head of the bed, watching the boy with sympathetic eyes. “Sh. It’s okay, I understand.” She began to comfortingly run her fingers through Jack’s hair, but said nothing, providing comfort without the need for company. After a moment of still tenseness, Jack calmed and leaned into the soft touch, closing his eyes. For a moment, a silent peace filled the room, until Elizabeth looked up to see Mozzy standing near the bed, seeming at a loss for words and actions.

            “Hey Mozz, how about a bedtime story?” The woman offered. “I’m sure you have plenty of tales to tell.”

            Jack’s eyes shot open and he looked up, interest sparking in his eye.

            “Oh, hmmm…” the short conman said awkwardly, mind scrambling for a good story to tell that was safe for Mrs. Suit to tell her husband. Finally he smiled. “Jack, how do you feel about shadow puppets?”

* * *

    Neal and Peter stood outside the last foster home Jack had stayed at, listening as a woman called that she would be right down amid the sounds of children playing. After a moment or two of waiting the door is finally opened by the woman herself, an toddler in one arm and another peeking shyly out from behind her legs. The woman looks at them in confusion and her arms tighten around the child at the sight of the two strange men on her stoop. “Yes?”

            “Hello, I’m Agent Peter Burke, I wanted to talk with you about one of your past charges. I called earlier…”

            Confusion clouds her face before understanding suddenly dawns to clear it. The woman turns back towards the interior of the house. “Riley,” She called.

            “Yeah?” A distracted voice answered.

            “Didn’t you answer the phone earlier?”

            “Oh yeah.” The young voice responds, disinterested. “Some sort of cop is coming over.”

            The foster mother sighed heavily, rolling her eyes before smiling at the two. “Please come in.” She leads the men into a living room where a pair of elementary ages students sit creating a lego town while a preteen girl texts while listening to music, one earbud dangling while the other rests in her ear. “Riley, can you watch everyone while I talk?”

            “Ugh!” The girl lets out a long, whiney moan.

            “Now.” The woman practically growls and the girl rises to her feet.

            “Yeah, yeah, come on.” The youngsters immediately obey as the girl leads them to the small enclosed yard, one of the boys reaching up to hold her hand.

            “Um, please sit.” The woman offered, nerves still obvious. “Um, is there a specific reason you’re here Mr.- uh agent…”

            “Agent Peter Burke. And this is my coworker Neal Cafferey.”

            Neal nodded in greeting.

            “Lydia Cheslow. So, um what is this all about? You know I can’t be held responsible for any kids after they leave my house, right? Whatever any of them did, I had nothing to do with it.”

            “Wait, stop.” Peter interrupted. “Nobody did anything wrong, you’re not in any trouble.”

            “This isn’t exactly FBI business.” Neal cut in. “It’s more of a personal thing.”

            The woman visibly relaxed. “Oh thank goodness.” She gasped.

            Neal smiled at the woman. “We’ve kind of taken one of your past charges under wing, and we’d like to know a bit more about him.”

            “Who?”

            “Do you remember a boy named John Doe?” The man asked, sliding his sketchbook to the woman. For a moment her face was blank as her mind cast for the answer, until enlightenment finally crossed her face.

            “Oh yeah! The runaway. I remember him, it’s hard to forget a 12 year old with white hair.” The woman sighed. “He was a fantastic babysitter. Unfortunately I don’t remember much about him, he left a couple of weeks after he got here.”

            “We heard he ran away so that there would be room for a sibling pair.” Peter remarked.

            The woman nodded. “Riley and Ryder, they’re still here, actually.”

            “Can you tell us anything you remember about him, anything that stuck out?”

            The woman shrugged. “Like I said, he was good with the little kids. His files said he liked pranks, but he wasn’t around long enough to really pull anything here. I don’t know. He didn’t really stick out, just kind of faded in with everything. If you weren’t thinking about him, it was like he was invisible, like he wasn’t even there and you could just walk straight through him.”

 

 

 

 


	19. A Considerable Speck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, guess who just lost four teeth and a little wisdom! That's right, me!!! So, I'm kinda on a couple pain pills right now, so...  
> yeah.   
> Also, I'm going on vacation next week. Good news, long car trips= tons of time to write. Bad news, at the end of it we'll be camping, so limited wifi.   
> So, I don't know when the next chapter will be out, but it will definitely be before next monday!  
> Enjoy!

Jack looked up from the chessboard at Mozzy’s gasp of surprise and elation. The teen looked up, thankfully avoiding another bad move in a series of terrible moves, to see what had the man so excited. The short criminal was staring at his phone like it was the holy grail, eyes roving back and forth as they surveyed the text on the screen.

            “What’s up?” The teen asked, trying to subtle switch some of the pieces around on the board while the man was distracted.

            “I just got an alert from one of my sights for my kindered minds.”

            “So, a conspiracy website.”

            “Some may call it that.”

            “Everyone may call it that.”

            “Anyway!” The man interrupted. “Someone else from the site has definitive proof that the moon landing did not happen.”

            Jack groaned. “Not the moon landing thing again. Who cares if it’s fake or not. Hasn’t exactly effected my life much.”

            “The effect on ones life is not the reason for concern. The important thing is that the government is purposely lying to the people and-“

            “Yeah yeah.” Jack interrupted, having no desire for this particular lecture. “So, cool doohickey, no moon landing, right. So… what?”

            “He says that he’s going to hold an open viewing, so that we can spread the truth, but he can’t keep it going long. He’s afraid some of Big Brother’s muscle is going to hush it up again.”

            “Well then what are you waiting for? Go see your whatever it is.”

            “I can’t. Elizabeth can’t come in today, and I’m not leaving you here alone.”

            Jack rolled his eyes. “Come on, I’ve spent years getting sick on my own. Besides, even if I was normal, I’m fifteen. I think I can handle the sniffles by myself until Neal get’s home. Go on, have fun with your fellow social outcasts.”

            Mozzy smirked at him even as he packed up to leave. “Considering the society of today, I take that as a compliment.”

            Jack rolled his eyes but said nothing else as the excited man rushed out the door. When he was finally gone Jack sighed and lay back against the bed. There had been too many people recently. His second day of being sick and he’d already decided that if it should happen again, he was getting a hotel and making sure never to tell anyone. They were always there, when e went to sleep, while, he slept, when he woke up. It was nice to finally have things peaceful and quiet. At last he was aloe and-

            Jack’s thoughts were abruptly cut off as a group of four nearly burst the door down. The teen groaned and stifled his face in his pillow before sitting up to shoot the Guardians a glare. “What are you guys doing here?”

            The group had stopped dead upon arrival, all eyes glued to Jack’s face, and the boy cursed as he recalled how beat up he looked.

            “Oh Jack,” The Tooth Fairy simpered and the teen groaned, burying his face into his pillow, his next words coming out muffled.

            “I repeat, what are you guys doing here?” The teen didn’t look up even as he felt the bed dip, one of the Guardians sitting down. A moment later a voice identified the sitter as North.

            “We heard that mission did not go as expected. Wanted to make sure you’re alright.”

            Right, more like rub in how much he’d messed up. Maybe see if he was well enough to try again. Jack groaned and sat up. “I swear Bunnymund, you say one word and I will sneeze on you. I’m sure this is highly contagious. I’d like to see how you’re accent sounds when you can’t breathe through your nose.”

            Bunnymund snorted, but refrained from making any comment, instead Tooth spoke up. “We’re sorry Jack. It was too easy to get the information. We should have realized it was a trap, but we got too excited. It was a rookie mistake and because of it you’re…”

            Jack shrugged, subconsciously pulling his arms under the blankets to hide the mottling of bruises and cuts. They were right, it was a rookie mistake, and professionals shouldn’t have made it. He should have realized something was wrong. But no, he’d been so eager to prove himself to the stupid guardians, he hadn’t thought. “I’m just a little bruised up, I’ll be healed up in no time. At least I managed to get a look at the files before I tried the computer thing, right? At least this whole mistake was a little useful.”

            However, Bunnymund was shaking his head. “Fraid not. We can’t trust any o’ that, not when we know it was all a trap. That coulda been planted.”

            So he’d really made a mess. Hadn’t done anything useful at all. Wonderful. “Oh great. So I took a dip in winter for nothing. Lovely.”

            Sandy frowned and pat Jack comfortingly on the knee. The teen smiled slightly at the short man before sighing. “But why the trap? It isn’t like he gained anything.” It wasn’t like Jack Frost was _that_ important.

            “Did it scare you?” Bunnymund asked. Jack scoffed but the guardians leveled stares at him until the teen relented.

            “He was a little freaky. I guess.”

            “Then for Pitch it was enough.”

            Jack groaned, murmuring about annoying psychopaths who didn’t need a reason to be creepy.

            Sandy came up and pat Jack’s knee, looking worriedly into the boy’s eye. Jack was reminded of the times he’d hide in the library from various gangs and enemies, when the man would glance at him as he casually dropped some of his lunch for a medical text nearby. Jack grinned at the man, he liked Sandy, but waved away his obvious concern.

            “I’m fine. Pitch was just being creepy, wasn’t actually trying to kill me or anything. He just kinda showed up with his goons, gave me a melodramatic classic villain’s talk, and invited me for a swim. Well, more like insisted. I swam to shore and Neal’s place was closer so I came here instead of going through all of New York City sopping wet in the middle of the night. My phone got ruined when I took the dive, so I couldn’t call you. That’s it. I’m fine.”

            “You don’t look fine, Jack.” Tooth said, somehow making the disbelieving statement sound hesitant and kind.

            The teen rolled his eyes. Don’t worry, I’ll be your errand boy again soon enough. “Yeah, yeah. Trust me, I’ve had nothing but the most devoted of nursemaids. The seconds between when Mozz left and you guys got here was probably the first time I’ve spent alone in- wait. Oh my gosh, there were like, ten seconds between when he left and you guys got here. There’s no way that was a coincidence.” When none of the guardians disagreed, the white haired boy burst into laughter. “Oh man, that’s just great. So there is no proof that the moon landing didn’t happen?”

            “Of course not.” North said with a snort and a roll of the eyes.

            “Oh, you guys are so in for it now. Before Mozzie was part of the ‘save the guardians’ campaign. Once he connects the dots you guys are so dead. And he’s gonna connect the dots, trust me.”

            Bunnymund snorted. “I’m not afraid of someone who doesn’t come up to my chin.”

            “Hey, Mozzie’s awesome. And he has friends, everyone on this side of the law in New York loves Mozzie. Or so I hear, I don’t exactly chat around much.”

            “I’m not worried about no-“

            “What he means to say is that it’s not us we’re worried about right now.” Tooth interrupted. “We’re worried about you.”

            “Hmm?” Jack hummed.

            From his perch on the bed North was nodding. “We heard from your friend that you body was not well. If you spoke with Pitch, I fear mind is worse.”

            Tooth was nodding. “Jack, Pitch has a way of getting into your head and making you think how he wants to.”

            “He’s good as making lies seem more believable truths. ‘e’s a manipulator.” Bunnymund added.

            Jack rolled his eyes. Of course, they didn’t just think he’d messed up, he thought he was brainwashed too. He just wished they got Pitch out of the picture soon so that they could get rid of him and stop looking at him like that. “Don’t worry, I have a thick skull, no way Pitch got into my head.”

* * *

 

            “I can’t believe you packed a sandwich in a brown paper bag like an elementary school student.”

            “I wasn’t planning on having pure grease for lunch again. This seemed like a good alternative.”

            “Do you have cookies and carrot sticks too?”

            Neal rolled his eyes but couldn’t help grinning as he pulled out one of the juice boxes Mozz had bought for Jack. Peter rolled his eyes again. “I don’t even think I’m surprised.”

            “Shouldn’t be. So who are we visiting first today? Social worker or last family?”

            “Social worker. Evelyn Rhyde, she’s retired and was at home. We’ll have to try and find a time after business hours to meet with the other family, since we can’t go to their work when it’s not official FBI business.”

            “What about Jack’s sister?”

            “The family that adopted her moved a few years ago. We have their phone number, but I don’t think the middle of the day would be a good time to call.”

            Neal only hummed in agreement, slurping the juice silently. “Jack isn’t going to be sick much longer. He’s healing up fast. We might be able to keep him in bed tomorrow, but after that…”

            Peter nodded. “He’ll be starting school soon, though. We’ll be able to talk around then.”

            “You know, eventually we’re going to have to approach him about all of this. He isn’t going to be happy.”

            “So, what? You want us to stop?”

            “No. I’m just reminding you that this isn’t a criminal we’re looking to arrest. This is Jack.”

            “I know. As long as you remember that this isn’t someone we’re casing for a con.”

            Neal smiled wryly as Peter parked the car. “Noted.”

            They made their way up the steps to find the woman waiting for them, unease on her face even as she led them to her living room and offered the cookies sitting on the short table. Neal grinned at Peter as he accepted the treat, a smug look on his face showing he well remembered the agent’s crack about cookies in the car.

            “Now, who was this about again?” The woman asked.

            “Jackson Overland.” Peter answered promptly, using the name found in the files rather than the name the teen had given himself.

            The woman nodded, though her eyes were distant. There was a moment of silence before she sighed. “I’m sorry, the name is very familiar, but I’ve worked with so many children. The name is on the tip of my tongue, but I just can’t seem to recall… oh!” The woman started in surprise as Neal passed over his drawing. After staring at the pad for a moment her features softened in fondness before becoming swarmed with confusion.

            “Yes I- I remember Jack, he had a younger sister. But I’m sorry, Jack died many years ago, and he was much younger than the boy in your drawing.”

            “That’s actually what we’d like to come and speak with you about.”

            “His death? It was an accident, no suspicion of foul play. No need for the FBI to be involved.”

            “We don’t think your Jackson Overland really died.” Peter responded. “We believe that he had faked his death for some unknown reason, and has since been living as a pick pocket in downtown New York under the alias Jack Frost. We came here to try and figure out why.”

            The woman continued to stare at the drawing dubiously. It was a splitting image of the boy she remembered, perhaps a little older and a lot skinnier, but it was the same Jack. Though, anyone that could draw an image of Jack so perfectly would have no problem with seeing a younger picture and adding a few years. She could think of no reason at all for someone to go through such great lengths just to get information on a dead child, but neither would she tell them anything until she was sure. As she hesitated Neal and Peter exchanged a look and the conman sighed. “Would you feel more confident if you could see a picture.”

            “Oh yes.” The woman replied, relieved.

            “He isn’t at his best in this picture.” The man cautioned. Evelyn smiled softly.

            “If he is truly the same boy then I’m not surprised. I don’t think a single family got a picture of him that wasn’t terribly blurry. That boy, always moving… oh my.” The elderly woman gasped at the scene. Her eyes lingered over the bandages and bruises. “Pick pocketing, you say?” She asked hoarsely, disturbed but certain now of the child’s identity.

            “Among other things.” Neal responded grimly. “We’re just glad to have gotten him off the streets when we did.”  

            “And where is he now?”

            “Currently? He’s staying at my place. He’s been switching between our houses for a while because don’t want him to feel too boxed in. We have him signed up to start school soon though.”

            The woman nodded, relief clear on her face. “Good, good.” She replied absently before suddenly startling the men with a booming gasp. “What about Emma? Did you- does she know that he’s alive?”

            “Not yet.” Peter answered. “We wanted to determine why he didn’t find her himself first.”

            “Oh. Well, I’m not sure how much help I’d be with something like that…”

            “Don’t worry Ma’am. We’d just appreciate it if you could tell us what you remember about Jack before his… disappearance.”

            The woman frowned as she began to think. “Well, his parents died when he was eight. I believe Emma was around four at the time. He was such a sweet little boy, always doting on his little sister, cheering her up and making sure none of the other children picked on her. I even caught him giving her his desserts when I ate with them. That boy absolutely doted on his sister, with all of the younger kids really, but especially her.” The woman sighed. “It was as though, after his parents’ death he would do anything he could to preserve the only family he had left. She was his whole world. I think… I think it really made him grow up to fast. He was fairly mature for his age. Some of the time.”

            Evelyn’s wistful look turned to a smirk. “He was mischievous too, always full of pranks or something smart to say. He got them kicked out of more houses for practical jokes…” The woman sighed fondly. “And he never did chores unless he could make them fun, turn them into a game. It was like he was simultaneously much too old for his age and clinging to his youth.”

            Peter and Neal shared a glance and nodded. That sounded like the Jack they knew. Neal cast the woman a winning style. “In your opinion, could you see the Jack you remember faking his death?”

            “Honestly? No, not at all.”

            Peter frowned and leaned forward. “What about for his sister? It sounds like he was making it hard for her to have a stable family if they kept on getting changed around because of him.”

            “Yes, but death? It seems rather extreme. Not that he wouldn’t be able to think of it. The boy was brilliant when it came to his pranks and games. He could certainly come up with a plan to fake his death, but even if he tried… I don’t think he could bear to be separated from his sister, even if he could convince himself it was for her own good. More than that, I think he would take one look at her crying for him and lose all nerve. He wasn’t good at tough love. I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I know he would never do that to his sister. Not that he would need to. The last family he was with absolutely adored them. They hadn’t spoken to me about adoption, but they requested to keep the kids for an extended stay. There would be no worse time for him to try, it really doesn’t make sense. I’m sorry.”  
            Peter sighed as he stood. “Looks like we’re back to square one. Thank you for your time.” He shook the woman’s hand, stepping back to let Neal do the same. The woman said nothing as they prepared to leave, only speaking when they were halfway out the door.

            “Agent? I’m not sure what the whole story is… but I don’t think Jackson faked his death, not like that. He loved winter, I can’t believe that he would do something that would ruin that season for his sister. I really, really don’t.”


	20. The Impulse

Jack barely waited until the door to the bathroom latched before throwing the blankets off his legs and jumping to his feet. Within seconds his shoes were on his feet and his coat was in hand. He was out the window and on the streets before Mozzie was done washing his hands. The teen grinned as he threw up his hood and disappeared into a coffee shot across the street. Sometimes it amazed him how easy it was to con Mozzie. That phrase ‘never con the conman’, totally inaccurate. Neal was probably one of the most gullible people he knew. And ok, he didn’t con Mozzie per se, but manipulating a conman should have been just as hard and Neal played him like Tetris. ‘No Mozz, I’m better, I don’t have to drink a litre of water every hour. –but Jack healthy people need to drink a lot of fluids too- fine, I’ll drink as long as you match me cup for cup’. The short man hadn’t even lasted until lunch.

            Jack snorted his laughter as he slid out the back door of the café, swinging his coat around so the black lining showed rather than the light blue-grey wool. It would look odd to anyone nearby, but someone scanning the crowd for a white head on top of grey would overlook him completely.

            A small part of him felt guilty, Mozzie would freak when he realized what Jack had done, but the rest of him was too elated at the prospect of freedom to care. He loved Mozzie and Neal, and the Burkes were great, really. But he’d found the constant attention grating on him a bit back when he was still going to ‘school’ with Mozzie, the hovering while he was ill just made it all worse. He wasn’t running away or anything, of course not. Why run from a warm bed, good food, and people who were at least good at pretending to like him? No, he was just getting some space.

            The teen grinned and spun, throwing out his arms to catch the lazily falling snowflakes and nearly taking out at least four tourists as he walked. He grinned as he made his way to North’s toy shop. Maybe he could get some freebies from the man. He hadn’t been to the park in weeks, the kids were probably missing him. Er, well, not him per se, but the presents he left, they were definitely missing those.

            The smile on the boy’s face only heitened when he walked into the toyshop and found his favorite yeti was on duty. “Phil!” He called, ignoring the man’s irritated grumble and unvoiced threat. “Hey, do I get some kinda employee discount now or something? I mean, I am working with your boss now.”

            The large, hairy man said nothing, ignoring the boy in favor of walking past him to help another customer. “Oh come oooooon.” Jack groaned, trotting after the yeti. “Hey, guardianship is mostly volunteer work, I should get something for all this.” Phil continued to switch between ignoring the boy and glaring at him.

            “Fine,” Jack said with a vindictive grin. “Don’t give me anything. Just remember, you can’t kick me out anymore so I can stand here all day bugging you.”

            Ten minutes later the boy left with a monster Frisbee, a collection of foam shields, and a hacky sack. The strangeness of the offering was only matched by that of the fact the FAO Shwartz, as a vintage toys store, sold none of the above items. Jack didn’t care though, he was busy planning on using the toys to create the world’s most epic snowball fight. Within half an hour the game was set up in the park, complete with a handwritten instruction set. It was just in time too, no sooner had he placed the instructions on the pile of shields, the Frisbee in a tree, and the hacky sack on top of one of the slides, that the children arrived. His group of kids were all yelling in excitement that their mysterious benefactor had returned, one of the twins even mentioning that he’d been nervous something happened to whoever left the toys. Jack had to fight to hide a grin at that, instead burying his nose into one of his textbooks as he furtively glanced at the children as they played.

            Once he could have sworn that Jamie was watching him with a speculative look once, but the instant he caught the boy’s eyes he’d shot his eyes back down, pretending to be wholly focused on Bernoulli’s principle. However, it wasn’t long until Jack caught the sight of a bald head and glasses out of the corner of his eye. With a grimace that quickly turned to a grin, the teen disappeared. He always did enjoy a game of hide and seek.

* * *

 

Mozzie snarled into his phone. “We knew that he wouldn’t stay in bed much longer. You can’t honestly tell me you’re surprised he ran off.” He argued. He’d been searching for the teen for hours and had finally decided to just return home. The kid was like a stray cat, he’d come back when he got hungry. “I know it’s too cold for him to be out when he’s so sick. And Jack calls me a mother hen.” The man grumbled before pausing, listening to the response. “ _Yes,_ I checked both parks. I searched all over New York for crying out loud. Look, if he doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be. I’ll find him later.” The man waited as the voice on the other side of the phone began to argue back and groaned, opening the door to Neal’s loft with an angry lurch. “For the last time yes I checked every-“

            The man paused, mouth gaping as he caught sight of Neal bundled up on the couch beside a recently returned home June, the teen face the picture of innocence. The short conman sighed. “Never mind. I found him. Call you later.” With a jab he hung up.

            Jack looked up at the man. “Where’ve you been? You were gone for, like hours.”

            Mozz turned a glare on the teen that was quickly swamped by June’s.

            “Mozzie,” The woman admonished. “Really, leaving an ill boy alone for hours. Poor child was sneezing into the canned soup he was trying to make when I got here.”

            “Interesting since your sinuses cleared up yesterday.”

            “What can I say? Loneliness was debilitating to my health.”

            “Not to mention that neither Neal nor June own any form of canned soup.”

            Jack shrugged. “It’s a mystery.”

            June smiled fondly at the boy before sending Mozz a teasing sharp look. She always did love the tricksters. Her Byron was one after all. Too bad none of their children had seemed to inherit the gene. Not that she envied the four attempting to raise the hooligan sitting next to her on the couch, but she wouldn’t miss being a spectator for all the world.

            “Well then,” Mozzie began, moving to pull Jack’s backpack away from the wall. “If you’re well enough to ‘make soup’, then you’re well enough to learn.”

            “Ugh. Moooooozz,” the boy groaned even as he grinned and accepted the text, not at all genuinely worried about the schoolwork. Actually, he’d only gotten back half an hour ago, not five minutes before June’s return. The rest of the day had been spent with Sandy at the library, getting a head start on his studies as well as hanging out with the only guardian the teen could confidently say wasn’t faking their interest in him.

            “No complaining. You’ve got little more than a week to become a sophomore.”

            “Don’t remind me. Elizabeth already threatened with shopping Wednesday.”

            The short man chuckled. “I don’t think I’ll plan any classes that day, just in case.”

            “But it doesn’t even make sense! The school has a _uniform!”_

            Mozz chuckled and cleared his throat, deciding to ignore that particular argument. “Now, another attempt to mold young minds to conform comes through what is now called MLA formatting. A bunch of bigwigs get together and decided how the rest of America _has_ to format their papers. Now, for a standard paper this is done by…”

* * *

 

  By the time Neal came home they were long done with english and he stepped in to see the two thieves eagerly watching a beaker change colors, his table a mess of chemicals and lab equipment. “What’s going on here?” The man asked.

            “Science class.” Mozz muttered distractedly as he instructed Jack to add a beaker into the mixture. The teen did as told then looked up to Neal with a grin.

            “Mozzie’s teaching me how to make greek fire.”

            “I thought that was a mystery lost in time.” Neal remarked as he eyed the mixture dubiously.

            “There will always be those who wish to conserve knowledge, we must simply seek them out.”

            The conman rolled his eyes but said nothing more about the chemical composition. “Well you’re not testing it at my house.”

            “That’s fine.” Jack answered immediately.

            “Or at Peter’s.”

            “Aww!” The teen grumbled but was distracted when the goop changed colors.

            Neal rolled his eyes, but only sat and watched in interest as the two continued to work, a fond smile playing on his lips. However, the peaceful moment didn’t last forever. Just as Mozzie was proclaiming that the concoction was done, Jack grabbed for it with excited hands, unintentionally giving it the friction needed to incite the phase change, and the gel became fire in the glass. Jack yelped and let go of the beaker, luckily still on the table. Mozzie yelled as well as Neal jumped up to grab the fire extinguisher thoughtfully placed at the end of the table. After a moment the table was mostly covered in white, chemical infused foam, but it was no longer on fire. The handsome conman cleared his throat. “Maybe you should stick closer to the school’s curriculum from now on.”

            “Right. The bespectacled man agreed. “We are getting close to the deadline after all.” He said with a sheepish grin and Neal nodded, trying to ignore Jacks grin that said the incident was the most fun he’d had in days.

            “Yes. That’s why.”

* * *

 

    Jack sighed and bit his lip, toying with a lock of chocolate brown hair as he eyed his reflection. Elizabeth had held true to her threat of shopping, but what no one had told him was that afterwards they were going to the FBI office to get his uniform and set up his disguise. So now here he sat, fully decked out in his uniform and chocolate brown hair, trying to get used to the sight before showing it to the agents waiting outside.

            The brown hair somehow made him look even paler. His eyes suddenly seemed too bright, too dazzling and his pale freckles seemed dusty under the hair that was so much darker than them. Most of all, however, he couldn’t get past the small, tickling voice at the back of his head reminding him that he’d somehow seen this before. A stranger on the street that looked like a brunette him, a memory from a long ago past. His thoughts were broken as a light tapping sounded outside the door, heralding the arrival of Neal. The man smiled teasingly.

            “Oh, my dear lad! You look darling in that uniform, with my eyes and your mother’s hair.”

            Jack grinned at him. “Oh father, how delightful of you to say.” The boy responded with a giggle baefore twirling. “How do I look?”

            “Perfect.” Neal responded with a grin, even as his mind faltered. He looked just like the picture of Jackson Overland. The man hesitated before deciding to test the waters.

            “So how do you feel being a brunet?”

            The teen immediately turned to the mirror, eyeing himself once more. “It’s really different.” He answered. “I’m still trying to get used to it. It’s hard picturing myself with any hair color other than, you know, my natural one.”

            “Right.” Neal said haltingly. It didn’t sound like a lie. Lies were usually straight, and that was as curved an answer you could get. It could be an evasion, or half-truth even, but something about it felt off. However, the man’s introspection was derailed when Jack suddenly winced from his position in the mirror, his hand flying to his head. “What’s wrong.”

            “Nothing.” The pickpocket responded with a pained shake of the head. “The fumes from the dye must have given me a headache or something.” The man took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s show the agents what they’re paying for.

            Peter was frowning when they entered the room, concern obvious on his face, though it melted some when Jack came out of the room. He smiled at the teen. “You look perfect. How do you feel.”

            “Different.” The boy replied, seeing the dark fringe out of the corner of his eye and feeling the tie settle against his neck.

            “That’s what we were looking for.” Hughes responded, eyeing Jack. “Even if anyone from the school does know about you they shouldn’t recognize you, not unless they look close or already know you.”

               “Neither of those should be a problem. Trust me, no one I know would be going to that school.”

            “Good.” The man replied with a nod. “Are you up to date on your studies?”

            “Enough to be able to keep up.”

            “Good. You go in Monday. The only one who knows about this operation is the principle. To absolutely everyone else you are just another student. Try to fit in and try to get close to Bethany as soon as possible. Do whatever you have to.”

            “Yes sir!” Jack exclaimed pulling his heels together and snapping one hand up to a salute.

            Hughes rolled his eyes, but a smile played at his lips. “Well then get out of that uniform, don’t want it to get ruined. That school is ridiculous, we lost half the budget of the case on that.”

            Jack grinned at the man before turning, completely missing the nearly silent click of Peter’s phone as the man took a picture of the expression. If that didn’t convince people that Jackson Overland hadn’t died in that lake, he didn’t know what would.

* * *

 

  Baby Tooth looked up from her frantic typing, trying to hold back a sigh. She was exhausted, doing the work of a dozen girls all by herself. Yet even as the thought crossed her mind she remembered exactly why she was alone and felt a flash of irritated determination as she knew she had to keep going. Tooth was right beside her, equally as frantic and busy. Tooth sighed, casting a glance at the teenaged girl beside her. “Don’t worry about gathering information for now, focus on your decryption programs, try and make them easy to use and as effective as possible. Your time will be cut in half after Sunday.”

            The child looked up at the woman between colorful bangs. “It’s not worth it. It’ll cut out too much time. We need me here.”

            The woman however, was shaking her head. “We agreed when you became a Mini Fairy that it wouldn’t interfere.” The girl grumbled, but knew better than to partake in a losing argument. The woman smiled at her kindly. “Besides, you’re running yourself ragged. Take a few hours, relax, then you’ll be much more refreshed and ready to work.”

            Baby Tooth snorted as she focused on a particularly tricky encryption. “You do realize that is the exact opposite of how every other teenager sees this, don’t you?”

            The woman chuckled as a yeti ran past blabbering about needing blue paint to completely redo the robots. “Dear, we passed normal long before now.”

            The girl chuckled but looked up when North entered with a terse expression on his face. Tooth looked up as well, setting her computer to the side. “What’s wrong.”

            “Nothing, that is the problem.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “There is nothing! No word from Pitch, no underhand business, the black market is quieter than it had been for years and crime is at an all-time low! Is too quiet, what is Pitch planning?”

            “It’s not like him.” Tooth agrees. “He isn’t usually so patient, none of his plans are this long term. It’s making me worry about what he has planned.”

            “Whatever it is, he’s going to make his move soon.” Bunny predicted, making his way into the room. “He’s waiting for something to be put into motion. I’m not sure what yet, but I don’t think we’re going to like it when it’s ready.”

* * *

 

            Outside of a Library a man sat, hazel yellow eyes locked on the door between two stone lions. The time was not yet ripe, but soon, soon it would be and the small man currently locking the door would no longer be a thorn in his side.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, I'm sorry about this but I'm going to have to go on a short hiatus. I'm moving into college next week, and I think my writing has felt the ill effects of my recently busy schedule, what with all of my preparations. However, I already have a plotline and a detailed outline of how this story will end and I promise I will not be giving up on it. I will see you all in a few weeks!

Jackson Halden looked up from where he was playing with the shiny buttons of his crisp, pressed uniform shirt, throwing a nervous glance at Neal as the car was parked. He took a deep, shuddering gasp of air as he grabbed his book bag- a stupid tote like thing, nothing like the comfortable backpack that had held all of his belongings for so long- and met the conman at the steps of the school. Neal put a hand on the teen’s shoulder and smiled encouragingly, Jack just grinned in response. He was nervous, but he could do this. It was just a game, only a game. He just had to make sure he won.

            “Got your notebook?” Neal asked, knowing that sticking to business would make the boy more comfortable than any sort of encouragement.

            “Yup.” Jack answered, patting his bag, feeling the thick, 5-subject binder sitting inside. “Now I just have to make sure I don’t end up with a stalking charge.” The first few pages of the middle section were devoted to the girl he was supposed to make nice with, Bethany Noel. Apparently they included everything from her name and age, to her recent purchases, closest friends, and even a couple of basic medical records. He hadn’t looked at it yet, didn’t know much about the girl beside her name, but transfer parent Neal would apparently be facing a long meeting with the Admissions director and so he had plenty of time.         

            Neal snorted at the boy. “Don’t worry son, even if you do we’ll get you out.”

            “But I wanted to try busting out of jail like my old man.” Jack answers with a smirk.

            “Good luck convincing anyone to let you be their CI afterwards, sonny boy.”

            “Please. Peter would never catch me, pops.”

            “And what makes you think that, my apple that didn’t fall far?”

            “I’d go to Elizabeth and tell her I was scared, sweet father of mine. She’d make sure Peter never got a hint.”

            Neal chuckled softly. “That would do it. Think I could use that next time?”

            “Nope. You don’t have a good enough puppy-dog-eyes.”

            “Are you sure about that? After all, according to this you have my eyes.”

            “It all depends on how you use them.”

            Neal rolled his eyes, but smiled softly at the teen, relieved to see that his earlier tension had all but dissolved. The conman knew Jack’s skills, had seen some of them firsthand. As long as the kid stayed out of his own head he’d be fine. “Ready for this?”

            “Yup. I get to be the new kid coming in at the middle of the year, hooray.”

            “At least you got to come back after a break.”

            “Yeah, what kind of school has a break in the middle of February?”

            “Well, this school has never been traditional.”

            “I guess.” Jack grinned at the man and, deciding that Neal would wait all day to make sure Jack was ready, took it upon himself to march past the man and through the doors, only to stop gaping as he made his way into the corridor. “This is a school?”

            The hallway was easily to three times larger than any of the ones in the public schools he’d spent nights in to keep warm and dry. Works of art lined the walls, and the windows opened to a large courtyard where some students were engrossed in books of playing instruments lowly. Neal smiled as he came up to the boy, leading him past classrooms that looked more like college lecture halls, students paying close attention to teachers or scribbling madly on pieces of paper.

            “Wooooow.” The teen drawled slowly as they walked past the kitchen and cafeteria, his head turned back to scent the delectable smells coming through. “I think I could get used to this.”

            Neal snorted. “Don’t get too comfy. This school is historically bad at repaying those that help the FBI arrest their contributing parents. Don’t think you’ll be allowed to stay here once the case is closed, it’ll be back to normal High School after that.” The man kept his tone light throughout, though he was truly waiting with bated breath to see how the teen would react to the last bit.

            Jack pouted at the man. “What if I like this school, I thought you had a rainy day account.”

            “Yeah, rainy day because the only thing I could afford with that money is an umbrella.”  

            Jack laughed before giving the man a wicked grin. “I’m sure between Mozzie and me we could find a way to raise the funds to supplement my education.”

            Neal hummed, pretending to consider it. “No, Peter would never approve. And then we would both miss out on Elizabeth’s cooking.”

            The teen sighed dramatically. “Well, I guess there’s no help for it then.” Not that it really mattered anyway. Once the case was over and he was kicked out, he wouldn’t have time for school anyway. Too busy making the money he needed to survive.

            “Speaking of,” The conman interjected as he signed them up at the office, the secretary on the phone putting up a finger to signal that she would be with them in a moment. “Elizabeth is making dinner tonight. You can stay there or come back home with me afterwards. You have extra uniforms both places.”       

            Jack hummed thoughtfully. “Depends on how much homework I have, and who I think would be better at helping me. FYI, I think I’d get an F and therapy for every essay Mozzie helped me write. He’s good for information as long as you can filter.”

            “Maybe you’ll have Conspiracy Theory 101.”

            “Nope, not on my syllabus, must be a junior class.”

            “Can I help you?” The secretary interrupted their rapport.

            “Yes,” Neal said immediately, casting the woman a charming, if cocky, smile. “Nick Halden, I’m signing my son up for classes.”

            “I see, you have a meeting with Mr. Ross, the Admissions director, at nine.”

            “That’s me.”

            “Just on time. His office is right around the corner, three doors down. His name should be on a plaque by the door.”

            “Great. Thank you.” With a hand on Jack’s shoulder the man gently led him to the correct door. Jack grimaced as he caught sight of the bench sitting outside the row of office doors.

            “Oh man, I’m going have to sit there while you talk aren’t I?”

            “Yep.”

            “It’s gonna look like I got in trouble and have to talk to the principal.”

            “I had to sit there last time.”  

            Jack groaned. “All of the teachers are going to assume I’m a troublemaker going in.”

            “We’ll consider it a warning for them, then.”

            “That’s… fair I guess.” The teen grumbled before falling into the seat dramatically.

            “Don’t wrinkle your shirt.” Neal said automatically even as he knocked on the door. Jack grumbled but straightened up. Ross barely spared the teen a glance before pulling Neal into the room to talk, leaving Jack alone in the corridor. The teen sighed, but pulled the notebook out of his bag, reaching to open it when the opening of a door caught his interest.

            “I understand that you think it’s unfair, but we have a strict electronics policy here. Laptops are to be used for only schoolwork. Not… whatever you were doing. The rest of the day will be spent taking notes and doing assignments by hand, and you will be allowed your computer back after school. If this happens again I will be much less forgiving.”

            “Yes sir.” A surly voice grumbled as the door closed, but it was enough to make Jack’s head shoot into the air, gaping at the reprimanded girl.

            “Baby?” He blurted out to the silent hallway, and with a flash of brightly colored hair, the girl whirled on him.

            “Jack!”

            “What are you doing here?” They asked simultaneously.

            “Uh, school?” Baby Tooth answered wryly. Jack simply laughed.

            “No way! This just got so much easier.” He grinned wickedly at the girl. “Guess who’s acting as a mini-FBI agent!”

            The girl groaned. “Jack.”

            “No no! This is cool. Listen,” He began, excitement coloring his tone now that he had his favorite partner to join him in his game. “A father of one of the students is up to nefarious thing, and Peter and Neal are trying to catch him, right, but they have no way to get close at all. But his daughter goes here, so I just gotta make nice with her until THEY can make nice with daddy. You can help, right?”

            “I don’t know Jack. I mean, my sisters usually go here, I’m not exactly best friends with every student.”

            “Come on,” He begged. “You should-“

            The teen’s words were cut off as the office door opened, Neal and the admittance director stepping out. Jack quickly changed his course.

            “-should definitely tell me where the bathrooms closest to the cafeteria are. I don’t care how good it is, it’s still school food. Oh, hi Dad.”

            “Jack,” the man replied, with a much larger smile than the circumstances demanded, though he quickly curbed his enthusiasm as the aging director looked to the man.

            “Yes, well, if the two of you will come with me I can show you the grounds.”

            Neal shrugged easily. “Why don’t I follow you and we let this young lady show Jack around. I’m sure a student has a much better grasp on what a student finds important, wouldn’t you say Jackie?”

            “Um, sure I guess.”

            The director humphed, but it was no coincidence that he’d gotten a position dealing with parents more often than kids, and had little trouble giving away the reins. “Do you have a class to get to?”

            “Not until next hour, sir.” Baby Tooth replied, neglecting to mention that it was only because she had gotten kicked out of her first class for hacking during school hours.

            “Fine. Show him around.” The man handed Jack a small folder. “There is your schedule, locker number, and school rulebook. Don’t lose any of it until it is memorized.”

            “Sir, yes, sir!” Jack responded, and the man rolled his eyes, but said nothing more as he began leading Neal down the hall, depicting the architect that made the school in all his glory. Neal cast one last glance to give Jack a wink before the two men turned the corner and disappeared.

            Baby Tooth lost her polite smile the instant he was out of sight and beckoned Jack down the hall the other way to begin the tour. “That was weird. Is he always like that?”

            “No.” Jack mumbled with a frown, “He seemed way too happy about something. Almost like-“ suddenly the teen smiles, low and curling. “Say, who’s your parent on the paperwork for all of this.”

            “North. Under an alias, of course.”   

            Jack wanted to groan. Santa Clause, papa Noel, Paul Noel. Were they actually trying to get caught? He turned a truly wicked grin on the girl. “Well then, Bethany Noel, my job is a whole lot easier than I thought it would be. I hope North has a good fall guy.”

* * *

 

    Neal looked back as he was led around the corner, casting Jack a wink when he saw that the girl was looking back at the teen. This school certainly did know how to present an opportunity. He smiled and nodded at the admissions director, pretending to listen as his mind wandered. He knew enough about this school after all, he used to work here. Still, he had to keep up appearances, and followed the man around the building, keeping a faintly pleased smile on his lips for the entirety of the tour, and occasionally even asking questions to prove his attentiveness. His mind however, was back on the teen in the hallway. He was officially cleared medically and all of his visible bruises were healed, but he still had a few nasty ones hidden on his torso that he would have to change for gym. Did they have gym here? None of the kids had seemed particularly… athletic, after all. More the time for math trivia bowls and debate teams than an actual sporting program. Still, even without the danger of locker rooms, he had a suspicious number of bandages on his hands where they hid the healing scabs of cuts formed as the boy had swum to safety. They had seemed unimportant when the boy was sick, trifling things, but that was just the kind of thing that would blow a cover. He hoped Jack could come up with an excuse for them.

            Then again, the boy was a master at distraction and deflection. There were many things the teen had to learn if he ever wanted to be a conman of the fame of Neal Cafferey, but those weren’t on the list. The man let out a low, silent breath. The kid would be fine, he knew he would be, the kid had talent. He was only worried because he hadn’t expected Jack to be talking with their mark anywhere near this soon, and he definitely hadn’t expected them to be force together like this immediately, Jack wouldn’t be prepared for it. Unfortunately, it was a prime opportunity, and Neal had known he had to jump on it whether the teen was ready for it or not.

            The man almost felt a tremor go through him when Neal’s tour crossed paths with Jack’s in the Library. Jack and Bethany were chatting in low, conspiring whispers, wicked grins lighting their lips. The man felt a part of him ease at the sight, even as a portion of his mind lamented the sanity of the teachers. If Jack got along so well with this girl, there was no telling the havoc he would cause. The man’s thoughts were still centered humorously on this last thought when the tour ended and he found himself shaking hands with the director just as the bell for the end of class wrung, and he found himself in a mob of students. Rather than risk the stampede, Neal leaned comfortably against the wall, watching the students come and go during the brief passing period.

            “Mr. Caffrey?” A voice asked as he idled, and the conman would have felt his heart stop in fear had the voice not been so well known. He turned to see a pair of familiar young faces staring at him amidst the throng of youths heading to class.

            “Evan, Chloe, how’s it going?”

            “Uh, good.” Evan responded, with a look at the girl he was holding hands with. Chloe just smiled winningly at Neal. She had always been a fairly practical girl, and couldn’t fault the man for throwing her father into jail as was his job. Plus, he’d been the best English teacher she’d ever had.

            “I can’t complain.”

            “Uh, are you here undercover again?” Evan asks, glancing back at the girl as if Neal’s presence had reminded him how lucky he was to have her.

            “Are you going to teach our class again?” Chloe asked, brightening considerably.

            Neal smiled apologetically. “Not this time. I’m just here to help flesh out someone else’s cover.”

            The pair frowned and shared a glance. “I didn’t hear of any other substitutes coming in.” Chloe finally remarked, and Evan nodded.

            “That’s because they’re not a teacher.” He glanced both ways, as though anyone actually cared enough to listen in, and stepped closer to the two seniors. “Officially this is an investigation and I’m not supposed to say anything to unauthorized civilians, but if you see the new Sophomore struggling with anything, I’d appreciate if you’d help him out.” He tossed them a wink and a nod as the bell rang and the hallways emptied, not looking back as the students cursed at the sound and took off the other way. Though he would admit to breaking out when he heard Evan’s incredulous tone from behind his back.

            “They have kids working for them now?”

            And Chloe’s “How do you think you become a part of that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I gotta know, Baybe Tooth being Bethany, too obvious or no?


	22. Neither Out Far Nor in Deep

Jack looked up as his Art teacher stopped by his desk, quelling his instinct to look to BT for help. This was one of the few classes he had separated from her. They’d needed a couple to keep from being conspicuous, and Jack had the suspicion that Neal had suggested this one for his elective. It helped that he’d never even owned a laptop until they’d given him one for school schoolwork and never would have lasted three seconds in the Higher Advanced computer class Bethany was in. Still the Teen was almost certain that if Neal hadn’t been there he never would have gotten art.

            The teacher hummed slightly, looking at the sketchpad and high-quality materials Neal and Mozzie had insisted on in approval before turning to study his drawing. The class was on the last day of a big project so he was told to just draw for the day. At first Jack thought it was just to keep him busy, but now the teacher was studying it like it would give her all the answers to his psyche. At least he hadn’t written FBI in big letters across the page or drawn a thief or anything. That would just blow his cover. In the end he had a pretty innocent sketch. It had started out as a snowflake that took up a whole page, but after he finished coloring in the background in black, he didn’t like the negative space and began filling it in with winter scenes, then a sled came in, then children, which obviously led to a snowball fight, and in the end it had turned into a winter wonderland of fun and good times.

            Jack had to stop a huff of laughter before it leaked out, eyeing the teacher as she studied his picture intently. Maybe the whole ‘discovering his psyche’ thing wasn’t too far off from the truth. What was he if not a blank soul trying to fill up the gaps with fun. He put down his pencil at the thought, unwilling to follow that train lest it get derailed. The teacher simply nodded at him and gave some pointers before moving on.

            Jack let his mind wander for the rest of class, running his pencil over already-drawn lines. Luckily there were any imminent tests on the horizon, but he did have a good deal of homework to do once he got home- er, back to Neal or Peter’s place. A small smile played at his lips. It felt weird to be worrying about homework instead of little stuff like food or getting arrested. A day in the life of Jackson Halden. He jotted down the nest big assignment when the teacher made the assignment at the end of the day- something about a seasonal project using nature somehow, whatever they’ll have time to work on it during class so he won’t worry about it- before packing up his stuff. He’d finally managed to put all of his stuff in bag just as the bell rang

            Baby Tooth is waiting for him by their lockers, a lunch bag in hand. Jack gives it a sideways glance. “Really? This school has four star chefs working for them and you brought a sandwich.”

            “Of course not.” The girl snorted, pulling a tablet out of the bag. “This isn’t the first time any of us lost my laptop to some teacher. I have to work through lunch.”

            Jack scrunched up his nose. “C’mon Baby Tooth, you don’t have to be on that thing 24/7. Besides, we have to talk about how we’re going to deal with all… this.”

            “Can’t we just do that after school?”

            Jack shook his head, “Neal is coming to pick me up, and he won’t believe that you invited me to your house the day I met you.”

            “Fine.” The girl huffs out a sigh before stuffing the bag back into her locker. The pair said nothing as they made their way through the lunch line and to an empty table. Jack looked around as he noticed no one else was coming to join them.

            “Well, this is… spacious.”

            The girl rolled her eyes. “Usually my sisters and I sit here together, but they’re… you know.”

            “Oh. Right, sorry. So, they’ll want me to stay at the house and tell them how today went tonight, but by tomorrow I could probably say that I had a Guardian meeting. I’ll need a new phone at some point too.”

            “I can have it ready by the meeting.”

            “Great! So, on to business, North does have a good fall guy for stuff like this, right?”

            The girl nodded, but seemed uncertain. “Yeah, but Noel… he had a pretty good sized empire. It would really stink to have to disband it and start all over. Do you think we could find a way for you to… fail?”

            Jack frowned, though he hesitated when he realized just how much the suggestion truly bothered him. He didn’t want to fail Neal and Peter, didn’t want to disappoint Mozzie and Elizabeth. He wanted to succeed for them, make them proud. He never had anyone to prove himself to before and he didn’t want to fail at his first chance. And sure, he still had the Guardians to impress, but it was obvious he would never really get their approval. He didn’t want to let Neal and Peter down.

            Of course, there was no way he was going to say anything about that. “It would really help me get in with their good graces though. They might be more willing to trust me or listen to me later on. If I fail at it, they might think I’m not trustworthy. Plus, while I’m on the case I am literally inside the lion’s den. I’m living at their houses and everything. Trust me, if we can do this it will make dealing with the FBI stuff a lot easier.”

            For a moment the girl said nothing, eyeing the boy in silent suspicion. Finally she nodded. “We’ll have to talk with them, but it should be fairly easy. I mean, North never made an appearance as Noel, he just planned everything. Phil was the face, North was the mind.”

            “Aw, but I like Phil. He’s grumpy, but funny.”

            The girl rolled her eyes, but smiled at the boy as he grinned back. They shot out ideas and theories as the meal went on. The girl laughed at one of the teen’s outrageous ideas, and couldn’t help a stab of joy that he hadn’t gone with the idea of instant failure. She didn’t want him leaving the school just yet. Already her empty table seemed so much more full.       

            Jack, however, seemed distracted, his eyes constantly roaming the room, looking up between every bite of food. When BT finally could take it no longer, she questioned him, but Jack remained distracted, saying it was just a funny feeling. Paranoia or not, the boy’s unsettled demeanor affected the girl, and she found herself constantly searching the room as well, until Jack noticed and laughed. “Don’t worry about it Baby Tooth. I’m just not really used to being in a building for so long with so many other people. At least not in plain sight.”

            The hacker rolled her eyes. “Only you, Jack. And hey,” she interjected, poking the boy with her fork. “Don’t call me Baby Tooth here. I’m Betty.”

            The boy wrinkled his nose. “Just Baby?” He offered.

            The girl considered it for a moment. “After you sit with me for a week. By then people will assume we’re dating if you start with the pet names.”

            “Then can I just use Baby Tooth?”

            Betty laughed and rolled her eyes, looking up with a frown when the bell choose that moment to ring. “History together next, right?”

            “Yup. Hey, if you’ll grab my stuff out of my locker I’ll take care of your plate.”

            “Thanks,” The girl called back as she rushed out of the cafeteria, her mind obviously on the tablet in her locker and the five minutes remaining of break. Jack shook his head fondly at the girl and began walking towards the plate drop off. Yet even as he made his way to the drop off, his eyes were locked intently on one table. Just as had happened several times throughout the meal, one of the two at the table- a boy a few years older than him- turned in his seat. The strange boy immediately whirled around, whispering furiously to the girl sitting next to him. Jack’s ears, hypersensitive due to constant vigilance, caught every word.  

            “He caught me looking.”

            “Are you sure that’s him?” The girl responded, equally quiet.

            “I’ve never seen him before, but I don’t know everyone in the sophomore class.”

            The girl chanced a look back, meeting Jack’s icy blue gaze before turning back. “He doesn’t act new.”

            “How does a new kid act?” The boy asked, turning back to see Jack’s cold, intense gaze leveled at them, the plate long since taken care of so the teen simply waited. The boy jumped and looked down, determined not to look back again. The girl, seeing the jump, looked back as well and came to the same conclusion, though she discretely set up her phone so that the camera could keep track of the younger teen. She looked up to the boy beside her when Jack showed no sign of moving, despite the mass exodus of the room.

            “I don’t know. Lost and confused?”

            “But he’d have to research the place, right?”

            “You think he staked it out?”

            “Why not? It would make sense, kinda. Maybe-”

            “Hey!” The girl interrupted with an indignant shout as a hand reached between them and set her phone down. She shot forward to cover the cell with her hand, gripping it tightly. She hadn’t even seen him take it. The two whirled to see the boy they were watching standing directly behind them with a mischievous smirk.

            “I took a picture, figured it would last you longer.” Without another word he turned and left the room, leaving the others frozen in shocked silence until the final warning bell rang.

            “I think that was him.” Evan said as they rushed to their lockers. Chloe didn’t bother with a response to that, simply shooting the boy a look that read: no duh, before grumbling about how she refused to be late to class twice in one day.

            Jack looked up when a pair of hurrying shadows ran past the open door of his History classroom, forcing himself to hold back a snicker when he saw the flash of telltale long dark hair run past. He didn’t know who those kids were, but hopefully they wouldn’t bother him again.

            He looked back with a start as he felt the sharp prick of a pen to his arm. “What’s up?” She whispered.

            Jack’s eyes darted to the board and locked onto the first keyword that came to mind. “Just remembering my homeschooling.” He nodded to the underlined key words: Industrial Revolution. “Mozzy is a surprisingly avid steampunk fan.”

            Baby Tooth rolled her eyes and lent back in her chair, though her gaze continued to rest on Jack. All too often she felt that the boy was hiding things from her. A blush crept up her cheeks as he turned slightly, chocolate brown hair naturally framing his face, so similar to that picture in his file. To be fair she was keeping a good deal of information from him as well.

* * *

 

Jack wasn’t surprised to see Neal waiting in the parking lot when school let out. He was however, surprised when he moved to get in and saw Peter in the passenger’s seat. Yet he avoided speaking until the sleek, expensive car slid out of the parking lot. Peter had turned to watch the boy.

            “How was your first day?”

            “Gee Pops, my first day of school was just dandy.” The man rolled his eyes, and Jack grinned at him before answering. “It went alright. I mean, I already had lunch with Ba- Betty, so that’s good.”

            Neal laughed. “He was chatting her up before I was done meeting the administrator. The kid works fast.”

            The teen grinned and leaned back leisurely into his seat, making no attempt to discount the man’s praise. Peter rolled his eyes slightly. “Hughes will want an update by the end of the week, but he’ll like to know that you’ve already made contact.”

            The teen groaned. “I don’t have to go out to the FBI building now, do I?”

            Neal chuckled in the front seat. “Not today. You know, most kids would be excited to see how the FBI works.”

            “Yeah, if it were like it is on TV. How many foreclosure scams did you have to solve today?”

            “Point taken.” Neal admitted, “but at least there’s no homework.”

            “You mean _you_ don’t have homework.” Peter interjected, eyes looking to the trunk that held the box of files he was planning to look over at home.”

            “You and Jack can work together.” Neal replied, ever present smirk threatening to split his face in half, widening even farther when the two groaned at the thought of their work loads.

            Jack sighed and pulled his reading assignment out of his bag. The class had read over half of it before the break, and now he had to catch up _and_ finish the nights assigned chapters and homework. And of course it was the Scarlet Letter, the book about a woman and her child being shunned and ignored by society. Great, just perfect. At least if was fairly short. He’d gotten away with reading through some of the beginning in the library while the rest of class worked through the current chapter.

            “Look on the bright side.” Neal cut into his musing. “Elizabeth told me she was making a ‘happy first day of school’ cake.”

            “With the peanut butter frosting?”

            “What else?”

            “Yes!” Jack grinned.

            Peter shook his head. “Don’t get too excited kid, El never let’s me have dessert until I finish whatever work I bring home. She calls it incentive, I call it cruel and unusual.”

            Jack gasped in mock-horror before making a show of returning to his reading. Both Neal and Peter chuckled, but neither interrupted the boy for the rest of the drive. It wasn’t until later that night, when all work was done and the group sat clustered around the Burke’s kitchen table with full stomachs that Jack remembered what he and Baby Tooth had decided. In fact, he didn’t remember at all, rather something else reminded him. He’d sat contentedly back in his chair, listening to the idle chatter around him and licking the last iota of frosting off of his fork. Suddenly a small vibration hit his leg and his mind shot to the moment the Baby had given him a new phone an instant before the text done sounded.

            _Do you wanna build a snowman?_ A young, singing voice sounded, pausing for a moment before repeating. By then all eyes were on Jack as he fumbled to get the device out of his pocket.

            “When did you get that?” Neal asked with a frown.

            “Secret.” The boy answered. Baby Tooth had been planning to drop it off at Neal’s place on her way home from school, but obviously that hadn’t been necessary.

            “Is your ringtone really from a Disney princess movie?” Peter asked, amusement coloring his tone.

            “Did you really just recognize a song from a Disney princess movie?” The teen retorted before checking the screen. “Don’t bother picking me up tomorrow. I’ve got a Guardian meeting.”

            Peter immediately perked in interest. As happy as he was to help Jack, the boy had given him really very little in towards catching the criminal group, always more concerned with ratting out Pitch’s secrets than the Guadians’.

            “How are you getting there?” He asked, feigning noninterest.

            Jack shrugged, not really paying attention as he fiddled with his cell. The meeting would have to end before six so that Sandy could get back to the Library to work until closing.

“Probably just walk. Maybe they’ll pick me up, not sure yet. Baby might let me catch a ride with her.”

            Peter looked to an uneasy Neal and mouthed ‘Baby?’, but the conman just shrugged so Peter continued the interrogation. “Walk? Their headquarters must be really close to the city.”

            Jack hummed disinterestedly as he slowly typed a reply back, his fingers fumbling over the touch screen. “I’m used to walking. Can get pretty far. It’s just outside of- woah. Nope. Nice try, not going there.”

            Peter sighed. “Jack, you know where their hideout is now. Refusing to tell us is obstruction of Justice, aiding and abetting.”

            The teen rolled his eyes. “You and I both know that you could arrest me for much worse things. Besides,” he gave an uneasy shrug. “I’m kinda one of them now- for now, I mean. I… I can’t tell you anything else about them, not while Pitch is still out causing trouble. Maybe afterwards I can… but not now, definitely not now.”

 

            Heavy tension filled the room, for a moment settling unbroken. Suddenly an obnoxious wheeze filled the air as Satchmo found a squeaker toy, and the crackling electricity in the air diminished. Elizabeth stood up with a smile. “Well then, who wants to help me with the dishes?”

            Jack suddenly remembered he had more homework to do.


	23. Putting in the Seed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long!!!   
> Next chapter should be up much sooner. It had better be. I think you may all kill me otherwise once you see what happens here.

Jack groaned as he walked out of History class, studiously ignoring the Senior in the hallway watching him. One of those same two stalkers, he’d have to ask North if they knew about any teens working under Pitch.

“This is going to take forever.” He complained, gesturing to the assignment requirements scrawled at the top of his notebook.

“It’s not that bad.” The girl argued, “and we’ve got a lot of time to work on it. Group projects can be fun.”

“Yeah, cause you know, we both have so much free time.” Jack sighed and looked at his notebook again. A paper, visual demonstration, and five minute presentation to the class, he was going to die. Suddenly the teen perked up. “Hey, this isn’t due for a while. Maybe I can finish this whole ‘catching Noel’ thing before it’s due.”

            “No way.” The girl immediately argued, “Whether you leave or not, I’ll have to finish this, and you’re not dumping this whole thing on me.”

            “Fine!” The boy allowed with a dramatic sigh. The girl chuckled.

            “Maybe after the meeting we can get Sandy to drive us down to the Library. That’s close to Neal’s place, right?”

            “Yeah, close enough. Closer than Santa’s workshop at least.”

            The girl hummed happily. “If we can get most of it done now, we won’t be as crazy when stuff get’s really crazy.”

            “You expect stuff to get crazier?

“Of course, it always does.” She sighs, prompting a laugh from Jack.

“Hey, speaking of crazy, I think Peter is going to try and follow me today. Can you get a Yeti to come in a car about a block away from the school and pretend to pick me up, then just drive around? Lead Peter on some kind of Goose chase?”

“Sure. I can make Phil wait at the school if you want to come back and catch a ride. It’d be a bit of a walk.”

Jack shrugged. “I’ve walked farther,”- before catching himself. “But a ride would be really, really nice.”

“Sounds like a plan.” The girl smiled before rushing to the next class, phone in hand and Jack right behind her.

* * *

 

  Jack snickered to himself as he stretched across the large, fluffy couch sitting in the center of the workshop’s meeting room. They couldn’t hold the meeting until Bunny arrived, but in the meantime Peter had just discovered that the car he was following was just a fake and Neal had sent Jack a 90 second video of the man ranting. Apparently Jack was just as bad as Neal. He laughed and hit play again, a grin still tugging at his face as Bunny finally made his way through to the door.

            “Ah! Finally,” North exclaimed. “Everyone is here. Now please, tell me what is dis beeg news?”

            With a sigh the teen rolled until he was just sitting on the couch, shooting a glance at Baby Tooth. The girl had been put to work the instant she made it into the building, only sparing the time to send Jack an encouraging smile before focusing once more on her tasks.

            “Well, the good news is that the FBI definitely trusts me more, but the bad news is that Paul Noel has to get arrested.”

            For a moment there was only silence in the room, until Sandy held up his tablet, the screen completely black except for a few white patches. Bunny nodded. “Yeah, care ta fill in the gaps?”

            “Well, they’ve been trying for a while to catch Noel, and since I’m the same age as his “daughter”…”

            North cursed lowly. “I knew it was mistake to use same name more than once.”

            “Yeah, so now I’ve been commissioned by the FBI to flirt with Baby Tooth until Paul Noel is in jail.”

            North hummed, eyes seeming deep in thought as the Tooth Fairy bit her lip. “Maybe,” the woman offered, “Maybe we could come up with some excuse to take her out of school.”

            “What?” Jack exclaimed, feeling that rush of cold fear tear into his hear. He didn’t want to fail. “No way! They’ll think I messed up! Or more likely they’ll assume I tipped you off and then, all that trust we had? Shwoom! Out the window. No, it’s not happening. Just, just let them find the evidence they want, and then have Noel escape. Burn the alias or something.”

            The man paused for a long moment before finally nodding. “Yes, I suppose.” He sighed mournfully. “It took so many years to build Noel, so much work. I worked so hard to make him perfect, dependable, under the radar.” The man chuckled. “Though, I suppose if I had done better at that last part, I would not have to be doing this. Okay, so what is plan?”

            “I was kinda hoping you guys could help with that part.”

            “Course you were,” Bunnymund mumbles, but the statement lacked any real irritation as he made himself comfortable on the couch beside Jack. For a moment the teen tensed, though he quickly forced himself to relax again.

            “I mean, the actual leaving evidence part won’t be too hard. The problem will be maneuvering everything so that Neal or Peter will find it.”

            “Without knowing that we’re setting them up.” Bunny remarked idly.

            Jack nodded, “Right. I mean, the best that I can come up with is if you invite them in, then they can snoop around without getting in trouble. At least, that’s how their stories make it sound.”

            “Yes, but why would Noel invite strangers into his home?” North mused. “Is very unlike the man I created.”

            Jack groaned. “Yup, that’s the problem in a nutshell. Maybe we can stop summarizing and start solving.”

            North sent the teen a look that was half glare and half sheepish, but obliged and the next few hours were spent with the group huddled, throwing out theories and ideas to the others.

* * *

 

Back and forth ideas flew, but other than a few flawed and incomplete notions, they were no better at 5:45 than they had been at 3:30. Sandy finally pointed to the clock and North sighed, prompting BT to look up as well and close her laptop.

            “We should stop for tonight.” The man said. “Perhaps will think of something in the morning. Meet tomorrow, same time.”

            The group dissolved, each murmuring their ascent, Baby Tooth’s eyes now locked onto her phone as a ding alerted her to her email. The girl groaned, seeing the familiar message posted there, an over stylized and garishly bright advertisement for the spring dance, inquiring if she’d found a date. It was the fourth one she’d gotten since last week, and she was ready to do anything to make them stop. She couldn’t even block the address, not without losing important school information.

            “Jack, you’re taking me to the spring formal.” She called as she moved to leave the room, clicking yes on the phone and hoping that would stop the messages.

            “Fine but I’m not renting a limo.” The boy quipped immediately, and suddenly Bunnymund stopped.

            “You might not, but Noel definitely would.”

            “Huh?”

            Suddenly Sandy was jumping up and down in excitement, comprehension dawning in his eyes. He looked between Bunny and the kids and nodded emphatically before pointing at the time and rushing out the door, leaving the bewildered teens behind.

            “Wait!” Baby Tooth cried out, “You were supposed to take us with you.”

            “You can go tomorrow.” Bunnymund dismissed. “Look, I think we might get this to work. Any concerned father would want to meet the kid she’s taking to a dance, right.”    

            “Yeah…” Jack said slowly.

            “And it wouldn’t seem too out a’ place to want to meet their family either.”

            “No,” The boy began, understanding dawning in his eyes. “No it wouldn’t. And wouldn’t it be great if they discovered a joint love of gambling and card playing?”

            Bunny nodded with a grin. “And the dance only lasts a few hours, and since you can’t drive there would be no way to get you home, not unless your father comes to pick you up.”

            “Why not invite my father to come in when he drops me off, play a few rounds until I get back.”

            “If something should happen and Noel gets called away, too flustered to even remember his guest-“

            “Neal has free access to a house he was invited into.” The teen grinned. “Perfect.”

* * *

 

 “It’s perfect. I have a way to get Neal a meeting with Noel.” Jack crowed as he leaped from the balcony to the center of Neal’s dining room, excitement clear on his face as he grinned at the two conmen pouring over something on the table. “I was so excited, I could barely stand to listen to that meeting.”

            “You met with the Guardians?” Mozzie asked. “How was it?”

            “Boring.” Jack replied promptly, moving around the table to attack the fridge.

            “There’s leftovers in the oven. Turn it to 400 and take it out once it’s done preheating.” Neal called, watching the boy in amusement. “Now, what is this amazing plan you have?”

            “ You're looking at Bethany Noel's date to the spring formal. And oh yeah, she didn’t have a date because her dad scared one of her boyfriend off after he insisted on meeting with his family. Like, a father- shovel-talk thing. So then I said I wasn’t scared and asked her to the dance and she said yes!”

            Neal grinned before a frown pulled across her face. This wasn’t like when he flirted with the CEO of a corrupt company. This was a little girl excited to go to a dance with a boy she liked. Her heart would break when she realized it was fake. “Jack,” The man began, tone serious enough to wipe the ever-present grin off of Jack’s face. “I’m glad that you’ve made so much progress, in record time even, but be careful with stringing this girl along. She probably really likes you, and you could really hurt her with this.” The man’s words held a smattering of pain, the knowledge of love lost and a broken heart. Mozzie nodded silently and Jack frowned. Well, that backfired. Jack’s mind immediately went into backpedal mode, time to play the naïve teenager, no better way to get them off his back.

            “But, but I really like her too. Like, a lot. I mean, maybe…”

            “Jack,” Neal said, so gently that the teen knew the man had fallen hook, line, and sinker. “We’re arresting her father, and you’re helping. It’s hard to build a steady relationship off of that.”

            “But-“

            “I don’t want you getting hurt either.” The man said, blue eyes burning with intensity.

            The teen slumped, defeated, even as a small smile threatened. Neal was so confident that he couldn’t be conned, he was the easiest of them all to fool.

            “I don’t know.” Mozzie said suddenly. “Chloe and Ethan seem to be doing alright.”

            Neal snorted. “They’re the exception, not the rule.”

            “Who?”

            “You mean you haven’t seen them yet?” The bald man asked in surprise.

            Neal frowned as well. “They said they would try and find you, they go to your school.”

            The teen suddenly straightened. “Wait, seniors, boyfriend-slash-girlfriend? Guy has curly-ish hair, girl really straight black hair?”

            “So you have seen them.”

            Jack groaned and buried his head in his hands. “Oh great. I think I owe them an apology. Wonderful.”

* * *

 

  A chocolate brown eyebrow twitched as the sound of frantic typing interrupted his train of thought once more. He looked up from his book, trying to mask his irritation as he eyed his study partner. Not that the girl noticed, she was completely glued to her computer screen, working on important Guardian stuff. The boy sighed.

            “Look, Baby Tooth, maybe it would be better if you just went back to headquarters and did… that stuff. I can handle things here.”

            The girl had the grace to blush. “Oh, sorry. I shouldn’t- I mean, no I’ll stay here. I don’t want to make you do it all yourself.”

            “It’s fine.” The boy said wryly. I’ll just bookmark the important things. We can read them together later.”

            “Are you sure? Ok, great thanks.” The girl replied, not giving the boy time to answer as she scooped up her supplies, computer program still up and running even as she rushed out the door. Sandy floated over to the teen still at the computer, giving him a warm, sympathetic smile.

            Jack returned the smile before gesturing at the pile of books. “Mind staying open a little late?”

            The man shook his head with another smile and actually pulled out one of the books and half of the sticky note pile. Jack smiled at the man and for a moment companionable silence rang as the two read.

* * *

 

  Silently a man waited, the tinted windows of his car hiding him from the view of any and all. A wicked grin lit across his mouth as the bar’s neon sign lit up. ‘Moonless shine!’ the sign read, depicting the establishment’s half off special starting at five the night of the new moon. His grin only grew as a group of men stumbled out of the bar, already drunk and it was only eight o’clock. The man let a bit of his beer spill onto his seat, permeating the car in the scent of alcohol. He took in a deep breath of air and inhaled the scent before turning to look across the street, eyeing the lions on the steps of the Library. Everything was in place.

* * *

 

“Thanks Sandy,” Jack grinned as he pulled the most useful of the books into his bag. The man smiled behind him, closing and locking the Library door. The man gave the boy a thumbs up as he stepped on to the street, giving Jack a final wave as the two paths split. The teen shouldered his heavy bag, mind already on dinner. The Library was much closer to Neal’s than Peter’s, but Elizabeth had promised fried chicken and that would be so filling on a day like this and-

            SQUEEEEEEEE!

Jack whirled, and for a moment life was nothing but a flash of noise and color. A wall of black speeding towards them, a sickening impact, gold mixed with red flying into the wall, a blur of peach and black running away, and finally a voice, one identical to his but leagues away, a cry of pure horror. “SANDY!”


	24. A Prayer in Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a few chapters left!!! Thanks for sticking around guys!

He’d only been sitting in the hospital waiting room for half an hour before Neal and Peter were miraculously standing in the hallway. He couldn’t look up, eyes instead focused on the small figure he’d drawn with the condensation from his drink. They didn’t speak as they took a seat in the chairs beside him, until finally Jack spoke, his voice gravely and hollow. “How did you know?”

Peter nodded to where an officer stood with arms crossed, waiting to get his statement. “I have connections.”

Neal nodded to a suspicious looking nurse who constantly surveyed the room. “So do I.”

Jack smiled softly, painfully, but the look quickly went away at the sound of Bunnymund yelling at the doctor. The guardians were all there, just a room away, but he couldn’t make himself move, not even before the FBI agent had arrived. He couldn’t bear to see the look in their eyes, the judgment that was sure to be there. He’d been there when Sandy had been hit, he’d only been a few feet away. The man had stayed late helping him, he’d been tired. Maybe if Jack hadn’t kept him back, hadn’t distracted him, maybe Sandy would have noticed the car and gotten away. Maybe- the teen jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder, and looked up to meet Peter’s gentle eyes.

“Was he a friend of yours?” Was he a Guardian? The man asked in his mind, though he was certainly not cruel enough to voice it.

Jack shrugged softly. “Before, he- he used to let me stay at the library during winter, or storms. He gave me food sometimes, and whenever I as hurt he’d add medical texts to whatever books I was reading. All sticky noted and everything. I… I didn’t think twice about what library to go to. But… but now…”

Neal’s hand began tracing slow circles along the teen’s spine, and Jack took a deep breath.

“B- Bethany went home early. I stayed behind to do a little extra and- and Mr. Mansnoozie stayed with me. When we left I suddenly heard a loud noise and- and I turned and the car was coming… someone ran out, but I- I was too focused on him to think about going after him or anything. I called 9-1-1, and rode with the ambulance here.”

“Do you remember what the man looked like at all?”

The teen was silent for a moment, his only recollection a blur, before he answered. He knew who was really behind this, and it wouldn’t hurt to have the NYPD keeping an eye out for him as well as the FBI. “Pale, really pale. Tall and stick thin, with dark hair and black clothing.”

“Pitch.” Neal breathed, but Peter was already ahead, eyes sweeping to the hospital room. Jack had just confirmed it, whether he had proof or not, this man was a Guardian. Jack seemed to realize his slip at the same time, because he nodded a little too quickly to be completely believable.

“I don’t think Mr. Mansnoozie was the one the car was supposed to hit.”

Immediately two pairs of eyes shot to the teen, but he looked just a smidge too genuine, a tad too composed for one with such a direct threat to his life. The men shared a glance before Neal looked back down at the boy. Alright, if he wanted to play this game they could play too.

“Should we put you off our case? Is this getting too dangerous for you, being seen everywhere?”  

“No! I- I mean I should be okay. I told the police what he looks like. As long as I stay in places with lots of people I should be fine.” Neither Neal nor Peter lost the skepticism on their faces. The teen just sighed and burrowed back into the hard plastic chair.

“Look, I just went through some pretty big trauma and your person of interest is in a coma and according to what the doctors are saying, he isn’t looking to come out any time soon. If ever.” He added in a tiny voice. “For now can we just pretend you believe me or something?”

Peter’s eyes softened. “Sure. Wait here, Neal and I have to have a talk with the officer.”

“Why do I have to come?” Neal moaned.

“I need to talk to you too.”

Jack stifled a sigh, but any concern about the agent left as soon as Sandy’s doctor entered the room, the Guardians trailing behind him, all asking questions and generally pestering the hardworking man. He turned away from the group, returning to his watery doodle and looking out the window. He didn’t move even when a familiar sigh sounded beside him, a heavy weight making the chair creak.

“Are you alright?” North’s voice asked.

“I just, I wish I could have done something.”

“Done something? Jack, while the rest of us were panicking at Sandy’s bedside, you were telling the police about Pitch. We now have more eyes out for him than ever before. Because of you.”

“I was the reason Sandy was there that late, he was distracted. Maybe he would-“

“Sandy would be proud that you kept a level head. You called the ambulance, the doctor said that if help had come just a few minutes later then we wouldn’t have to worry about a coma because he would not be here at all. You saved him. Sandy is still alive because of you. I don’t know who you were on the streets, who you were before that even, but now you are Guardian.”

Jack cast the man a small smile. “Thanks.” _But who can I know who I am before I figure out who I was?_

“Jack?” Neal’s voice sounded, and the teen looked up, casting North one last smile.

“I hope your wife gets better soon, sir.”

“Thank you, young man.” North said with a wink, his voice shaky and weak.

Neal cast Jack a ‘not buying it’ look, but said nothing as he led the man to where Peter was waiting with the officer. He even said nothing as the man dropped him off at his apartment, taking Jack with him to be smothered by Elizabeth. Later that night, as he was convincing Mozz that Jack needed sleep more than hovering at the moment, he held his tongue. After all, if he told Mozzie, the man would insist that he stay silent, and he most certainly did not plan to do that. First thing in the morning, as soon as they got to the office he would tell Peter. He was already working on a sketch of the man, Santa most likely if the large belly and white beard was anything to go by.

A few weeks ago he would never have thought to tell Peter, a few days ago, he and Mozz would be working to find the vigilantes and offer their assistance. But then Jack had showed up, hurt, half drowned and sick. Then he’d gotten the call that Jack was in the hospital, had been feet away from a man hit by a car. It didn’t matter that Jack hadn’t been hurt, it was too close, and as long as the teen continued associating with the Guardians the attacks would only get closer. It wouldn’t take long until one actually found it’s mark.

“Who’s that?” The man jumped at the question, turning to see Mozzie staring at the picture with an uncanny intensity. “Is that…”

Neal sighed internally. What was he doing? Stupid question, he was doing what he always did when his friends were in danger. Tunnel vision, always the tunnel vision. The Guardians weren’t the problem, they weren’t even the ones hurting Jack. Pitch was. And he was hurting, or was going to hurt, a lot more than just one kid. He was the one they had to stop, no the Guardians. The man took a final second to compose his thoughts and firmly stopped down that voice in his head, the one that called for his friend’s protections over all else, the voice he usually listened to. But finding the Guardians with Peter wouldn’t stop the threat. It might just concentrate it on the only Guardian left out.

“Jack was talking to him at the hospital. Peter didn’t see him, but I did.”  
            “This is great!” The short man cried, pulling the sketchpad from the man’s grip. “I’ve got a couple of people all over town. They’ll be able to find out who he is!”

“Yeah,” Neal responded, but his words fell on deaf ears as the bespectacled man rushed from the room, picture in tow.

* * *

 

Jack jumped when Peter slapped his badge onto the coffee table, clutching his cup of hot coco even closer to his chest as he looked up at the man in confusion. Elizabeth looked up as well, even as her grip over the teen’s shoulder’s tightened.

“I did this with Neal once.” The man said as he crouched down to sit in the chair beside the couch where Jack and Elizabeth sat. “The badge is gone, it’s just you and me, and you can tell me anything you want without worrying about the FBI coming into the equation. If you need to- want to, want to talk about it, I’m all ears.”

Jack shifted slightly and took in a deep drink of the hot chocolate. “Really? None of this will go on any record, you won’t use it to find the Guardians, nothing?”

Peter nodded. “Like I said, I offered the same deal to Neal a long while ago, and I’ve barely mentioned it yet.”

“But those were all about past cases, things that were done already. This is still going on. Can you promise me that you won’t do anything, anything at all.”

The man didn’t hesitate. “I promise.”

Jack gripped the mug tighter. “He was the only actual Guardian that gave me the time of day before the Man in the Moon called me. The rest of them just ignored me, or hated me, but I wasn’t lying when I told you he’d give me food or a place to sleep. He’s- he’s a really good guy. I wasn’t doing anything Guardian-y tonight.” Not really. “I was just doing homework, but he stayed late to help. I was kinda talking to him while we were leaving. Then I- I heard the car and next thing I know, there was a crash and I saw him go flying and- and I was right there! I had to call the rest of the Guardians, hear them panic, call the ambulance. There was so much blood, but I- I wasn’t sure what to do. Some- some of the Guardians got there before the ambulance. They were terrified and screaming and- I don’t remember that well. But I was supposed to help them, we’re supposed to be saving kids. If I can’t even help protect a protector, then how can I help anybody?”

“Oh, sweetie.” Elizabeth cooed. And Peter felt his teeth grit, his hands forming into fists.

“S- Santa met me in the hospital, after you guys left. He tried to cheer me up, tried to make me feel better, told me that I was a Guardian, but…”

“Jack,” Peter said softly, thinking of a brown haired girl the boy sacrificed his chance at a normal life for, “I may not know much about these… criminal activities or vigilantes, but I do know one thing. You are a Guardian.”

The boy looked up, bangs hiding watery blue eyes. “Thanks.” He said with a large gulp of the warm drink. “Thanks.”

* * *

 

They didn’t make Jack go to school the next day. Luckily, Bethany ‘coincidentally’ was missing as well. However, a couple hours in he decided that maybe a distraction would have been better than just sitting around doing nothing. He couldn’t get Sandy’s face out of his mind, his memory stuck between the man’s smile and the mess of gold and red on the ground. By lunchtime he had taken to pacing the house, drawing snowflakes on all the windows.

He was out of the house by two, his mind on Sandy even as he walked his familiar streets. He got three blocks before he noticed the snow piling up on the ground and falling lazily onto the ground. Immediately a smile lit up his face, envisioning the snowball fights and fun that would be at the park in a few hours. The grinned soon dimmed as Sandy’s memory filtered through his mind once more. The teen took a deep breath and set off towards the park. He needed to distract himself for a while, Sandy would want his mind clear, want him to be useful for the Guardians and he couldn’t do that if his mind were in a perpetual state of dull mourning.

It would be a good amount of time before the kids got back, but he was running low on money since he hadn’t pick pocketed since Neal and Peter took him in. Granted, he wasn’t in want by any means, but he wanted to keep a good amount stowed away in case of a rainy day that melted the snow away. Besides, when there was snow you didn’t _need_ to buy any toys. You could have just as fun with what you could find around.

The teen hastened towards the fun, mind already centered on fun game after game he could devise with the snow and the playground. A few hours later and Jack was leaning back on a bench as his children played on what he not-so-humbly considered his best winter wonderland to date. Children were ducking and dodging around obstacles made of snow, ice, and playground equipment, using Teeter Totters as catapults and swings as slingshots in an epic snowball war. For a few short hours, Sandy’s lax body was the last thing from his mind.

As the afternoon wore on and the weather grew colder, soon it was only his children in the park, with others only occasionally popping up here and there. The teen watched in calm contentment as the twins and Cupcake battled Monty, Jamie, Pippa. Sophie seemed to switch between sides, filling up the teeter totters with snow and jumping to dump it on anyone unfortunate enough to be standing nearby.

Jack took in a deep breath for a sigh of contentment, pausing when a sharp, cinnamon scent filled his senses. Looking up, he saw that all signs of the game halted as well as each child paused to take in the scent themselves. He looked over to see a man pulling a cinnamon- roasted nuts cart, the treats slowly roasting and still warm. There was a collective intake of breath as he children all took a final whiff of the treat before the game continued without another glance at the cart. Jack watched the cart seriously, fingers running over the bills in his hoodie pouch. Earlier that day he’d watched as a babysitter spent over an hour on the phone with her boyfriend, not once looking to the small child she’d brought to the park. It was almost reflex to take back the money she hadn’t really earned.

Silently he stood from his spot on the bench and made his way to the cart. He didn’t really need the money after all. Checking the prices- man those things were expensive- he smiled at the man. “Hey.”

The man grunted what could have been a ‘hey’ in reply, but was more likely simply a perfected grunt of greeting. Pulling out the cash he had swiped, the teen handed the man enough to get each child a small bag of warm nuts, leaving him only a few spare dollars.

“For those kids over there.” The teen jerked his head to where the children were playing. “Think you can give it to them without letting them know I paid?”

The man cast Jack a suspicious glance, but nodded slowly. “Sure thing, kid.” Jack smiled and began to turn when the man’s voice sounded. “Hey kid, catch.” Jack turned, reflexes shooting out in surprise as he caught the warm paper cone.

“Uh, are you sure?”

The man simply grunted again in return, filling one of the smaller cones with nuts.

“Thanks!” Jack got no reply at all that time, and instead scurried off to his usual bench, munching on his treats as he went.  He’d no sooner sat back down that the man’s deep voice sounded.

“Hey, kids.” For a moment the park stilled, only the snowballs already thrown moving as the children turned to the man with curious, hopeful eyes. “Closing up for the day. This stuff won’t be sellable tomorrow. You want any?”

Immediately the children scrambled to the cart, all the while cheering about how ‘cool’ it was, how excited they were. Jack sat on his far off bench, silently munching on the nuts as the man handed out the piping hot treats.

The children cried out in thanks as they sat in the center of their play area to eat, forts and castles becoming chairs, piles of snowballs simply things to rest against. Jack smiled as he watched, settling into his seat with a content sigh, all thoughts of Sandy’s precarious situation far from his mind. For a moment he closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat, letting the cinnamon sugar melt on his tongue.

“Hey.”

Jack jerked to attention, his eyes flying open as a voice sounded from mere feet away, mentally cursing himself for slipping in his attention, especially after what happened to Sandy. However, when his lids lifted he saw not a threat, but a small, familiar form stood facing him. Jack had to nearly bite his tongue to avoid shouting the child’s name. Which, technically, he shouldn’t really know.

“Uh…” He managed to grunt instead.

The young brunette smiled shyly at the teen, but didn’t hesitate to talk to him. “Thank you, um, for the nuts.”

“What? What are you talking about? That guy gave you those, duh.”

“Oh, um,” It was obvious that Jamie didn’t believe him for a second, but equally obvious that he was too good of a kid to really call him on it. “Um, do you… want to play with us?”

Jack paused for a moment, any and all brainpower leaving him for a moment as he slowly processed the request, the long awaited words that he’d never actually expected to come. Then he was surging to his feet, nearly shouting yes as he stuffed the nuts into his trusty backpack. Jamie smiled at him, any shyness gone as he led to teen to the group, introducing each of the members as they walked. The introductions weren’t truly needed, but the teen didn’t dare admit to already knowing all of the names of the children. There was a fine line between friendly stranger and stalker, and Jack was probably already treading that line as it was.

It didn’t take long before the treats were all eaten or stuffed into bags and the games commenced anew, this round with Jack added on. For a few blessed hours his mind was blank in paradise, playing with the children he had watched for so long. The teams were constantly switched up, the rules upended. At one point Jack didn’t even participate, simply making and leaving snowballs for the children to use as amo all over the field with a cry of “I’m not Jack Frost, I’m the Easter Bunny” that left Sophie calling him Bunny Frost the rest of the day. It was amazing. He was being seen and noticed by someone other than the Guardians and the FBI for what seemed like the first time in forever. Hours later, after what seemed like only moments had passed, Jack was broken from his fun by three voices simultaneously sounding “Jack!”

Immediately the bright grin on his face dissolved, and the children surrounding him froze as their new friend stiffened. There, standing at three of the many different entrances of the park stood Neal and Peter, Baby Tooth, and the Guardians. The teen groaned and for a moment allowed his face to fall into his hand. “Jack?” Jamie asked, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” The teen sighed. “Just a couple people I was hoping to avoid.”

Monty frowned. “Do you need help?”

Jack grinned. “Nah, I’m good. Thanks though, kid. I’ll see ya later.” He eyed the three parties, (who were by now watching each other with varying degrees of distrust, skepticism, and dawning enlightenment) and decided to cast both the Guardians and the FBI the universal symbol for wait a minute, and jogged up to Baby. He smiled at her, taking her hands in his.

“What the heck are you doing here?” He asked, keeping his face light and enamored.

The girl smiled winningly back at him. “I couldn’t stand sitting around thinking of him anymore. I figured you’d be here.”

The teen sighed, he couldn’t exactly blame her for that, not when he’d done the exact same thing. “Well you had great timing.”

“I didn’t know they’d be here, I swear.”

Jack looked back to wear the kids stood, still halted in their game, staring at him. “Think we can pull this off in a ‘Aladdin/ Jasmin rich kids getting into the slums to play’ kinda thing?”

“We can try.”

Jack paused for a moment before grinning and pulling on her arm until they stood in the center of the circle of kids. “Guys, this is my girlfriend, Betty.”

“Oooooooh.” Pippa and Cupcake chorused, and Sophie grabbed the girl’s hand and stuffed a snowball into it, her intention clear. Jack laughed.

“Think she can take my spot for a second?”

The kids nodded and began arguing whether or not this was cause to change the team. Jack spared a glance back at them before rushing over to where Neal, Peter, and Mozzie stood waiting. “What?”

Peter frowned at him. “You weren’t home and you aren’t answering your phone.” Jack’s hands shot to his pocket only to remember plugging the phone into the wall just a few hours before leaving for the park.

“Uh… oops?”

Peter rolled his eyes, but it was Neal who spoke. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

Jack shrugged, looking to the ground to ensure that he looked like a sheepish kid. “Cabin fever.” Suddenly he straightened and looked Neal in the eye, as though daring the man to disagree. The conman heard the double meaning and took a step back. Mozzie meanwhile was craning around the teen to watch the girl.

“Is that her?”

“Yeah, I uh, thought I’d see if the caringing considerate approached did anything. You know, playing with kids in the park and stuff.”

“Uh-huh.” None of the adults seemed impressed.

“Whatever. If that’s all… you guys can go. I’ll be home in time for dinner.”

“El’s already almost done with it. Do you have any clue what time it is?”

“Uh…” honestly he didn’t. His watch broke with that dip into the water, and he’d left his phone at home. “Sure, I’ll be back in a sec, gotta conduct some business.”

Without another word his sprinted across the park to where the Guardians stood waiting.

“And what do you guys want?”

“We just wanted to make sure you’re ok.” Tooth said kindly, her eyes wide and concerned. “Things were a bit hectic last night.”

“If I’m ok? I wasn’t the one hit by a car.”

“No, but you had the hardship of witnessing it.” North said softly.

“Yeah well, I already told you and the police what I saw, no need for follow up. IF I remember anything else I’ll let you know.”

Aster cursed lowly. “That’s not what this is about you-“ he growled. “We came ta see ya cause you saw somethin’ awful ‘n we just wanna make sure you’re okay.”

For a long moment the two men locked eyes, a battle of wills and glares until Jack finally looked down awkwardly. “Oh, uh, yeah. I’m about as good as I could be.”

A light, feminine hand touched his arm. “If you ever need to talk…”

The boy had to fight back a scoff. He hadn’t had anyone to talk to for years. He could handle a few more days. “Thanks.” He forced before shaking off the hand. “I better go before they figure out what’s happening. Do NOT leave with Baby Tooth.”

“Yes, yes,” North said absently. “Do you think we were born yesterday?”

The boy shook his head before running once more to the children playing. “Sorry guys, gotta go. Duty’s calling.”

“Awwww.” The children chorused, before one of the twins got the idea to ask if he could come back the next day.

The teen hesitated. “I’ll try, that’s for sure.” He reached over and squeezed B.T.’s hands, making sure the movement was visible to the FBI agent and conmen waiting for him. “See ya!”

“Who were they?” Peter asked the second Jack neared. The teen shrugged.

“Just some shop owners I used to inform about what the gangs were doing. Obviously I haven’t been around in a while so they were curious. The candy shop owner from a while back was even there. Remember? Bunnymund?”

“Uh- huh.” The man voiced, skepticism pure on his tongue. Jack shrugged, as though the man’s suspicion couldn’t matter less to him, not that that convinced anyone in the car. The teen yawned and reveled in the heated car, eyes falling to half mast as he contemplated a busy day.

He still missed Sandy

* * *

 

A man grinned as he shed his vendor disguise, a sinister grin forming on his lips as he bragged. “I’m telling ya, brat doesn’t suspect a thing. Give him some free nuts and I’m his friend for life.”

“Mhh- hmmm.” Pitch hummed, completely unimpressed. “So did you actually find anything we could use against him?” The boy was a thorn in his side. He was the reason that Tooth still had one of her precious drones, that the FBI had detained dozens of his men, that Sanderson was still alive. The boy needed to go.

“Better than that, I think I know just the kids we need to bring in for step two.”

“Oh? Well then, now I’m interested.”


	25. The Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ATTENTION! If you read this around 2 AM on the 17 of December, you may have read the wrong chapter!!!!! IF you are seeing this note, don't worry this is the correct one.

Jack groaned as his alarm rang, rubbing his eyes blearily. He’d been up with nightmares almost the entire night, each one worse than the last and leaving him surprised to still be in the Burke’s house. A few times he woke almost certain that he’d been kicked out and he would wake in the tunnel of the playset in the park. He spared a glare at the incessant beeping and seriously considered asking for one more day off. The thought barely lasted a moment before the teen gave a shudder and forced himself into sitting position. He wouldn’t be able to survive another day moping around town. With a groan he forced himself into a sitting position, rubbing the sand out of his eyes and the nightmares out of his mind.

He was at the table tiredly spooning cereal into his mouth moments later, barely looking up as Peter and Elizabeth bustled around to get ready for their day.

“Are you sure you want to go to school today honey?” The woman asked.

“Yeah,” Jack mumbled with a yawn. “I need something to distract me or something.”

The woman nodded in understanding, placing a cup of hot chocolate in front of the boy. “Well, don’t hesitate to call if you need to leave. I’ll make sure Neal and Peter get off their lazy butts to take you home.”

“Thanks.” The boy managed with a warm smile. He may only be there because he was helping with the case, and he may still be somewhat bitter about it, but Elizabeth was a good person. He couldn’t be mad at her about it.

“Of course sweetie.”

“Ready to go?” Peter asked as he entered the room, a travel mug and newspaper in his hands.

“Sure.” The boy answered as he stifled another yawn and gulped down the remainder of the hot coco. He pulled his backpack off the ground but remained fairly silent as he followed the agent to the car.

“You okay kid?”

Jack simply grunted. “Weird dreams.”

“Oh.” The man replied, shifting uneasily in his seat. “Uh, anything you want to talk about?”

The teen snorted softly but couldn’t help the small, fond smile from flitting across his face. Sometimes Peter sounded like an alien who didn’t know to interact around people who weren’t criminals or his wife. He kind of wanted to see the man around an actual child. It was almost sweet, in fact Jack would call it sweet if it hadn’t been for the 8 hour long reminder that the man would kick him out of the house as soon as the case was solved.

“It’s fine. Just dreams, not so bad in the morning.”

He could handle getting kicked out. He’d been living on his own for years, and El probably would let them do it until the worst of winter was over. Plus he had the Guardians now. He could call in favors with them or some of their henchmen. Maybe just stay in the workshop or something. He would be fine. He always was.

“Well, um, if you ever need to talk about it…”

Jack rolled his eyes slightly. “Yeah, yeah. You’d be the first to know.”

“Or El.” Peter replied. “Or Neal or- or even Mozzie. Just… if you really need help we’re all here.”

The pale teen didn’t say anything for a long moment before nodding jerkily and turning back to the window. The car was silent for the rest of the trip to Neal’s place, neither person in the car speaking until the conman had slid into the back.

“So…” the suave conman began. “Those shopkeepers from last night…”

Jack groaned and buried his head in his hands, glaring out of the corner of his eye to where Neal sat in the back seat with an unrepentant grin.

* * *

 

“Mr. Halden,” The art teacher’s voice sounded. Jack’s didn’t look up at the unfamiliar name, his mind consumed with his project and his thoughts. “Mr. Halden.” She called again, and the teen’s mouth ticked down in irritation for a moment. _I wish Halden would hurry up and answer her._ Follow almost immediately by: _oh crap._ His head shot up to see the teacher standing less than two feet away, fixing a steely glare at him.

“Oh, uh, sorry Mrs. Hartwig. I was concentrating.”

The woman nodded, her expression softening somewhat before she nodded at the black insulation sitting in front of the teen. “Remember, I’m giving you this time to work on your natural seasons project.” She nodded at the groups working on sculptures with pine cones and working on shaving down ice.

“I know. Don’t worry, I’m just doing something different.”

The woman nodded uncertainly, but smiled at the teen and moved on, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like ‘it’s your grade’.

Jack grinned even as he turned back to his work, catching the woman giving him a wink before moving on. Mrs. Hartwig could be kinda weird, but she was really funny. He knew she would appreciate his art once she saw what it actually was. Which he hoped wouldn’t be until he actually turned it in. He worked carefully and methodically, carving through the thick insulation until it matched the correct shapes, shoving it into his backpack as the bell rang for the day.

Baby Tooth was gone again, though she would probably be back by Monday. That was okay, that would give Jack the opportunity to talk to a couple of his favorite stalkers.

            Two heads of dark hair shot up as Jack set his lunch down and slid into the seat next to them. “So Evan, Chloe; Neal finally told me that he apparently knows you two.”

            The couple froze for a moment before sharing a glance.

            “Well,” Chloe remarked dryly. “That explains a lot.”

            “Yeah,” Evan replied. “We just figured they were talking about a different kid.”

            Jack grinned at them before taking a deliberate bite of food, letting them wiat as he chewed and swallows and practically oozing confidence and superiority. Jack knew these types. They wanted to be impressed, so you had to act as if you were impressive, important. “So, you guys going to the dace next week?”

            “I don’t know.” The girl replied, sending a sharp look at Evan. The boy squirmed in his seat.

            “I was gonna ask you after school.” He finally murmured. “I had something planned and…”

            A smile tug its way past Jack’s lips. “Well then, how would you like to help out with official FBI business?”

* * *

 

The kids never ended up showing at the park after school, the numbers reaching nearly a record cold with horrible biting winds. Jack couldn’t blame them, he was ready to head to Neal’s the instant it was clear that they weren’t coming.

            The teen grinned as he made his familiar way up to the balcony and past the clear doors into the welcoming heat of Neal’s apartment. He wasted almost no time in pulling out the pizza pockets he’d managed to score with a particularly effective bout of puppy dog eyes to a weak willed Mozzy. As the overn slowly warmed and crisped the room the teen made his way to the window and pulled the insulation out of his backpack. Carefully, methodically he taped it to the large window. If this worked like it should, the extra heat of the insulation would keep frost from forming where the black material lay. Ideally the frost would form only where he had cut out pictures, leaving a frozen image behind.

            The teen ran his hands over the squat figure on the far left, squat and fat with arms raised as through power would be coming out of his hands. The Sandman. He allowed his fingers to continue over to the large rabit standing proud with ears alert. The Easter Bunny. Then the feathered, petite figure. The Tooth Fairy. The larger than life, fat, tall man with a triangular hat and coat. Santa Clause. His finger paused uncertainly before tracing over the fifth and final figure, a skinny boy crouched on a staff. Jack Frost.

            He licked his lips uncertainly. Maybe he shouldn’t include that last one. Everyone knew about the Big Four, but Jack Frost… he was little more than a saying and a villain in the third Santa Clause movie. Unimportant, unnoticed, and certainly not one to share a place among four f the most often repeated childhood tales.

            The teen heaved a deep sigh and sat back at his heels before straightening his face and making his way to the oven. It was past time for him to stop projecting his thoughts to his homework and it was most definitely not the time to have a pity party. Those weren’t any fun. So, he got his snack, settled his books to surround him, and put in some stupid ma jong movie that was sitting around. He wasn’t going to think about it.

            The teen continued in his work until Mozz snuck in, the man grabbing a glass of wine before happily exclaim that he’d come in at ‘the very best part’ and plopped down beside him. It wasn’t long after that Neal finally returned as well. Jack looked up at the man with a smile.

            “Well Dad, ready to meet the girlfreind’s family?”

            “Are you?” The man replied.

            “Are you kidding? Have you seen the place we have reservations for? And this is all coming from the FBI’s pocketbook. I can’t wait.”

            “Really? You think you’re man enough to brave the man who has scared off every boyfriend before you?”

            “Please. I met Pitch, how scary could this guy be?”

* * *

 

   Apparently, Phil can be plenty scary when he wants to be. He shows up five minutes late, making the “Halden’s” wait, and arrives in a tailored suit and a haircut that turns the shaggy yeti into a businessman who looks more like a mafia leader from an old TV show. When they finally show he has an arm wrapped protectively around B.T’s shoulder and is glaring at Jack. That last thing at least, isn’t exactly new. Phil has hated Jack for years, or at least pretended to.

            The man manages to school his glare into a professional smile as he and Neal introduce and shake hands, though the look pointedly doesn’t last when Baby introduces Jack to her father. Though, Jack supposes that can only help the façade and decides not to comment. At the tale Jack makes good on his promise to get the most out of the night, ordering one of the largest dinners on the menu. As they eat, the teen can only watch Neal in awe as the con artist expertly pokes, prods, and suggests until he has Phil completely wrapped around his finger.

            The larger man looks confused, as though he knows that something isn’t going to plan, but can’t figure it out through Neal’s charms and the knowledge that he is, in fact, getting exactly what he’d wanted. The two teens attempt to keep up conversation, but Baby is nearly transfixed as well. The two had been playing their ‘pretend’ game for so long that it was enticing to see an actual master at work, a man to whom con wasn’t a game, but a way of life and occupation. It changed nearly everything, and even though they left that night with the plan intact and an invitation for Neal to play cards the night of the dance, Phil and Baby couldn’t help but feel as they left that they were the ones being conned.

* * *

 

   “How did it go?” Peter’s voice sounded on speaker over the phone as Neal and Jack made their way back to the apartment.

            “Incredible!” Jack enthused. “Card date is set. I swear Neal almost had the guy ready to marry him by the time the night was over. I wish I could have taken notes.”

            Peter snorted over the phone. “Why bother. You already have Neal and Mozz wrapped around your finger.”

            “You too!” Neal argued. “And worse, he has El wrapped around his finger, and she has you.”

            The agent grunted but didn’t say anything in reply to the conman. “So it went well?”

            “So far everything is going according to plan perfectly.”

            “Good. Jack did you cover things on your end?”

            “Yup. We should be all set to get Papa Bear to the dance next week.”

            “Perfect. We still need to get you a suit, but I’ll let Neal handle that. Otherwise I think it’s all set. Not much else to do for tis until next weekend.”

            “Great.” Neal responded and moved to turn off the phone, Jack slumped in the seat behind him. The teen yawned widely behind his hand. He was exhausted from his nightmares and the conversation had lasted well into the night. He was ready to pass out the instant he got back. That was, until he noticed the frost collecting in the corners of the car windows. After all, if frost was forming here, then that might mean it be forming around his art project. The boy practically sprinted up the steps to the apartment, leaving a bemused Neal behind as he rushed to the window and saw the frost splattered planes.

            With a whoop of triumph the boy peeled back the material carefully, revealing the five icy creations so that they sat, crystalized and shining white against the black sky behind them. The boy immediately reached for a camera, furiously taking pictures of each angle he could think, in his excitement never giving a second thought to the boy on the staff that sat in every shot.


	26. The Exposed Nest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone! Praise to the King and Son who has come in love to save the world and free man from the chains of sin and death!   
> I hope you all had an incredible holiday!   
> Unfortunately this chapter isn't exactly Merry, dun dun dun.

Jack felt as though his heart would freeze as he stood in front of the empty playground Saturday afternoon. This was the second day that the children had missed after promising to meet him Thursday. At first his mind had run in circles, certain that the children had told their parents about him and they had refused to let them continue playing. Maybe they had decided not to come now that the mystery of who was leaving toys was gone. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

All options were blown out of the water when a policeman had marched up to him the instant he entered the park. At first the boy had froze, ready to enact his fight or flight, more important flight, instinct before remembering that he hadn’t actually done anything wrong in weeks. If the man had come to arrest him for something else Jack could just play the FBI card now or something.

“I’ve heard that you spend a lot of time around here, is that true?”

“I guess,” the pale boy replied cautiously.

The officer nodded, and pulled a small stack of pictures out of his pocket. “Do you recognize these children?”

Jack’s breath died in his throat and he let out a low gasp as he recognized Jamie, Pippa, Monty, Sophie, Cupcake, and the twins. “Y- yeah. They’re here all the time. Wha- what happened? Are they ok?”

“Did you happen to see them Friday afternoon?” The man asked, ignoring the teen’s questions.

“No. They weren’t here when I stopped by after school, but… it was really cold. I didn’t stay long. Are they ok?”

“Did you see anyone or anything suspicious while you were here?”

“No and _what happened_?”

The officer watched Jack for a moment, almost as if he couldn’t decide if the boy was a threat or not, as though the teen could be faking his concern. “These children disappeared Friday night. They were last seen heading to this park.”

A chocked gasp left Jack and the boy fell to sit at the curve, his had resting in his hands and his eyes wide and unseeing. No. Not these kids, not his kids.

“Sir.” The officer called. “Sir, I need you to cooperate. You’re the only one who we can find who came to the park that night because of the weather. Are you sure you didn’t see anything odd.”

Jack cast his memory back, but he could remember nothing. “No. I- I don’t. There wasn’t anyone here at all!”

The man fixed the teen a steely glare before continuing. “Did you notice anything unusual here the past few days?”

Jack frantically cast his mind out, but came up blank. “No, it’s been just… normal. The weirdest thing I can think of is that we got a new almond guy, and that’s just a winter thing.”

The officer frowned, flipping through pages on his phone. “Almond guy?”

Jack whined in frustration. “You know, almond guy. Sells cinnamon roasted nuts? Warm and smell really good.”

The officer shook his head. “I have a record here of every stand licensed to sell in this park. None of them mention cinnamon roasted nuts.”

The boy choked on air and despair, a whimper leaving his throat. The cart was huge, much too big for a nut cart, definitely big enough to fit 7 unconscious kids.

“The- the nut cart. If they were unconscious he could have fit them all in. It would have been tight but… if he didn’t have the motor to roast the nuts… if he’d planned this…”

The officer nodded, calling in his radio and scrabbling furiously across the phone before thrusting it at Jack. “I will need your full name and phone number in case we have extra questions or need to contact you.”

“Got it.” The teen replied, dutifully filling out the information before slumping back down against the curve, his breath heavy and ragged. He forced himself to move and dialed Baby Tooth.

“The kids- the kids at the park. They’re gone-kidnapped! They- the police are swaring the place. IT had to have been Pitch, there’s no way- no way anyone else would risk it with that many kids, in such a public place, not now. Pitch has my kids!”

“I know.” The girl said softly.

“You KNOW?”

“We didn’t want to tell you until we had a better plan about how to get them out.”

“So you know where they are?”

“Yes.”

“Well why don’t you do something?”

“They’re in the center of the stronghold, nowhere close to any of the exits. We wouldn’t be able to get through.”

“Then call in an anonymous tip to the police!”

“Jack, they don’t know about the labyrinth at all, and they would come in guns blaring. The children would be killed before the police made it halfway.”

“But- but- but we have to do something!”

“We’re figuring it out Jack, trust me, we’ll think of something. It’s what the guardians do.”

“Tell them I’m coming to help.”

“Jack-“

“Baby Tooth.”

“… We’ll be waiting for you.”

“I’ll be quick.” And the teen took off into the night, his path never deviating of curving as he followed through to his goal with a singular purpose. He had something important to do.

* * *

 

The workshop as for once deadly quiet as the teen entered, his face holding all of the cold fury of a harsh winter storm. It was still a beehive of activity, yetis at every table working furiously on the next project, but the joy and comradery was gone. Nobody spoke, all work done with a detected, clinical air. The teen found himself pausing slightly, his irritation diminishing somewhat as he saw the despair that surrounded the workroom. By the time he actually made it to the meeting room where the rest of the Guardians were waiting, his mind had cleared to the point that he could be helpful rather than simply ranting or complaining.

“What do we know?” He asked immediately, jumping into one of the seats at the table. He saw surprise flicker over the faces around the table as his expression remained determined and serious. Aster sent the lad a slight approving nod before speaking.

“Pitch got ‘em sometime Friday ‘round 3:00. From what we could gather he put some of his nightmare sand in some roasted almonds he was selling. Not sure how much, but it was enough to knock ‘em all out. We saw ‘em on the cameras Baby bugged, but our resources are getting limited. We got there too late. Just got there in time ta’- ”

Suddenly an earsplitting shriek filled the room, followed by the sound of uproarious laughter as a child chased a small rolling toy into the room. The icy teen gaped at the small head of blond hair resting above fairy wings.

“Sophie!” He blurted and the girl looked up before abandoning her game to latch onto his legs, crying out ‘Bunny Frost’ as she clung. “Hey Soph,” He cooed softly, allowing a soft smile to light across his face for the first time since seeing the officers in the park.

North nodded. “They panicked and left girl. We didn’t want to return her to her parents in case they came to pick up loose ends. She had to sleep through nightmares, but otherwise will be fine.”

Jack nodded, watching as the child left him to run back with her toys. He took a deep breath. “Okay, so what’s the plan?”

“We do not have enough people with enough skills to get kids out. You could get in, but could not smuggle children out easily. I could smuggle children, but not many at one time. If they see one child gone, they will hurt others.”

Tooth nodded, standing to help Sophie where she was trying to grab her toy from where it rolled under a cabinet. “Luckily, we didn’t get to where we are today by doing everything ourselves. We have connections.”

Bunny knocked the table to get Jacks attention. “I didn’t discover this life myself. Was kinda born into it. My family comes from an ancient people called the Pooka, don’t got much time to explain ‘em, but think of ‘em as a warrior tribe. They’ve been preserving their way of life secretly for decades. Masters at stealth and hunting.”

“So, Australian ninjas?”

Aster rolled his eyes. “Sure. Whatever ya want to call ‘em, they can help. They’d be willing to, too. Problem is going to be contacting them. I sent a message saying I need their help, but they need to accept it before I can send any other details.”

“So we just have to sit around and do nothing?”

“No!” North shouted. “We do not do nothing. We get information. We do what we can so that when the day comes that they arrive, we have enough information that they can get the children out immediately. We do not do nothing Jack.”

The boy looked down to where his hands gripped the table, longing for the wooden staff that he had long since stopped carrying. “Ok.” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “How do we contact them? And what do we do with Sophie until then?”

Tooth scooped up the girl, dropping her on Aster’s lap. “Grumpy Pants here is going to take her in.”

“No, seriously.” The boy replied, his face falling flat.

Tooth laughed. “He’s just a big softie, don’t let his glare stop you.”

The Easter Bunny sent the hacker a glare, though the look was ruined when Sophie pulled on his hair softly to get his attention and his face softened. Jack snorted softly and Aster’s glare almost immediately returned. “Anyway. Since Pitch’s got a tight eye n normal communications, they’re gonna send their acceptance by ordering some chocolate baskets with a special discount code. I can deliver the eggs myself with the information stored inside and smuggle them back in my truck.”

“Ok.” The boy breathed. “Ok, that’s good.” He rose his head to look dead into North’s eyes. “I’m telling Peter and Neal. They’ll know that they can’t do something stupid and risk the kids, but they need to know. It’s why they put up with me.” He attempted at humor before allowing his shoulders to fall and raising to his feet. “Do you know where in the Labrynth they are?”

“Yes, but you cannot-“

“I can get in and out to check on them without anyone noticing. It’s my job. It’s why _you_ put up with me.”

* * *

 

   Jack slid silently through the corridors, more similar to a waif than a real boy, completely overlooked and unseen by the overconfident criminals drunk off the victory of pulling one over the Guardians as well as, well, alcohol. Finally he made it past the most highly guarded sections of the network, and into what looked like a hallway of cells. The teen slid up to the bars of one of the cells to see Cupcake sleeping heavily inside, her voice ragged as she shifted across the bed. Jack physically bit his lip, trying desperately to keep from calling out to child. Even if it wasn’t guaranteed to give up his position, The Guardians had told him that it would be nearly impossible to wake a child who was under the effects of the nightmare sand. They were only released when the dosage had run its course.

            The teen whimpered deep in the back of his throat. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to come here, not when he couldn’t do anything to help. Still the boy dutifully moved from cell to cell, memorizing every detail he could, taking photos with his phone, though he didn’t dare turn airplane mode off in fear of revealing himself to Pitch’s computer genius. Finally he stopped at the last cell, where Jamie lay. At the sight of the trembling boy Jack sighed and rested his head against the bars of the cell. He took several deep breaths before forcing himself to open his eyes to snap a picture, though he stalled when he saw a small gleam of light at the corner of the room.

            The pale boy zoomed the camera on the spot for a moment, his breath catching in his throat. Just the tiniest bit of a window could be seen, a leftover from when the labyrinth had simply been a basement, before the hidden tunnel system was created and connected. Breath quickening, the boy raced back through the tunnels, still silent and unseen, until he stood once more in New York’s frosty air. Immediately the teen turned, retracing his steps desperately, trying to remember every left and right, counting his steps as he moved, until finally he came to an abandoned, sunken building, the barest bit of a basement window seen peeking above the layers of concrete sidewalk that had been laid over the abandoned glass.

            Jack quickly wiped down the frosted glass, barely able to see the small figure inside. Almost without thinking his hands moved to his bag, pulling out the same black insulation as he used for his art project. A pocket knife jumped out of his pocket and into his hand’s, Jack’s hand’s moving furiously over the material. Soon a snowflake sat in his hands, ready to be applied to the window. Jack took a final deep breath, pressed the material to the glass, and with a final glance through the window, tore off into the night, pulling out his phone.

            “Hey, Neal, are you at Peter’s? Well then get there, fast. Bring Mozzie if you can. We have an issue.”


	27. Now Close the Window

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not really much happening in this chapter... a little break after the last one.

Elizabeth was waiting with hot coco when Jack arrived, dinner warming in the oven and stove. The teen took the cup with a strained smile before collapsing in one of the table seats. His hands moved down to massage his leg. It hadn’t hurt in weeks, but now there was nothing he wanted more than to lean on his shepherd’s crook and feel the rough grain beneath his hands.

“The- the kids…” He began as Neal and Peter joined him at the table, Mozzie quickly moving behind them. “Pitch has them. Kidnapped them right from the park a few days ago. I probably showed up half an hour after he took them and I- I had no clue until just a few hours ago.”

The adult stared at Jack in mute horror, faces pale and shocked until Peter jumped to his feet with a curse. “Do the police know?”

“They know that the kids were kidnapped but they don’t know anything about Pitch.” A mirthless joke left the teen’s lips. “Actually, I think I’m the number one suspect. Or at least, a suspect.”

“Do you know where they are?” The agent demanded. “I can say that a friend of Caffery saw something but doesn’t want to talk, they’ll believe me and-“

“We can’t tell the cops.” Jack interrupted, hands coming up to grip his dyed brown hair. “That place is huge. There are guards every five feet and the cells aren’t anywhere near a door. If we tried just storming the place the kids would be dead long before anyone got there, trust me.”

Peter sighed in frustration and clenched a fist against his forehead.

“What are the Guardians doing?” Mozzie asked anxiously.

“Apparently Bunny knows some people. He’s sent out a message asking for help, but they’re ever more secretive than you. It’ll take a few days before we can get a reply. If things work out like they’re supposed too then we should have the kids back in a week or two, but…”

“Things rarely work out like they’re supposed to.” Neal said, just as Elizabeth answered.

“That’s a long time to leave them with Pitch.”

Jack smiled at the pair before his face crumpled. “Exactly. But- but I don’t know what to do.” He admitted, voice high, desperate, and sounding so much younger than usual.

“Oh Jack,” Elizabeth breathed softly, moving around to rub the child’s shoulders. The teen took a deep breath, as though to steady himself, and his next words were firm and strong, any hint of his distress gone.

“There isn’t much we can do for right now. The Guardians are keeping an eye on things the best they can, and Bunny already contacted his friends. I just wanted to make sure you guys knew.”

“Jack,” Elizabeth tutted, moving to enclose the boy in a full hug. Jack allowed it for a moment before gently shrugging her off.

“Uh, if it’s okay I think I’m gonna skip dinner tonight. I’m not really hungry.”

The boy was on his feet and halfway to the stairs before any at the table could reply when suddenly Neal stood. “I have someone on the inside.”

“What?” Jack froze, turning a shocked gaze at the conman. Though the shock quickly melted into a glare. “Why didn’t you tell me about that sooner?”

“Good question.” Peter replied, arms folding over his chest as he eyed the conman. “Neal?”

“A friend of mine got a job offer from Pitch. After the situation was explained, they insisted on going in. So far they haven’t been able to give me much.”

Jack paused for a moment, his mind casting out to recall walking in on Neal in an embarrassing moment, the fuzzy outline of a woman giving him soup as he shivered and struggled to breathe through a snot ridden nose.

“Oh, her.”

“Her? Neal, I thought you agreed to tell me when Hunter was back in town.”

“When did I agree to that? I don’t remember that at all.”

“But she’s in?” Jack interrupted. “She can get us information? Can she watch over the kids?”

Neal grimaced but nodded. “Kidnapping isn’t really in her wheelhouse, but she’s almost as good as me. She’ll land a place on guard duty or something somehow. I can contact her later tonight.”

“Really?” The teen asked, his eyes shining with a bit of hesitant hope.

“Really. I’ll text her now.” The man smiled, pulling out his phone.

Jack smiled as well before frowning and pulling out his phone as well. He’d forgotten to check the messages after checking on the kids. He’d even turned it off after calling Peter just so that he wouldn’t have to worry about them. The Guardians would want to see the pictures he’d managed to take and- the boy yelped and nearly dropped his phone as the device beeped and sang, informing him of five missed calls, three voicemails, and several texts.

The texts were all from the Guardians, as were two of the calls and one of the voicemails. All were requesting the information he’d gotten from exploring Pitch’s labyrinth or what the FBI agents had said. The voicemails on the other hand…

“This is Officer Meekins from NYPD. Please pick up the phone, we have some questions regarding the ‘nut man’ you claim to have seen at the park. We will also need to discuss falsifying police records as there is no one from the area registered as ‘Jackson Frost’. Please call back at this number as soon as possible.”

The second voicemail was much the same, though it had more of a ‘if you don’t call soon you’re going to get arrested’ feel to it. Jack groaned, letting out a quick ‘crap’ as he glared at the phone. As though he didn’t have enough to deal with. Neal nodded to the cell. “Call them back, hand off the phone to Peter as soon as possible. Make sure to drop ‘FBI Agent’ when you do.”

“Are you my legal guardian?” The teen asked the agent, who shrugged in response.

“It wouldn’t hold up in court but I’m the closest you’ve got.”

Jack nodded in reply and cast the phone a wearied glance before hitting the callback number. “Hello? This is, uh, Jack Frost. I got a couple of calls. Sorry, phone died.”

The officer on the line cursed lowly, vehemently, and Jack found a laugh startling out of his chest. “Whoa dude, you sure that you’re supposed to be using that kind of language with minors.”

The officer simply growled in response. “I’ve had a long day. Now, care to explain why you gave me a false name and why you were unable to be contacted.”

Jack sighed. “I already told you, my phone died. Just got it back on now.”

“Uh huh. And you excuse for the name?”

“Right, sorry. I guess you wouldn’t have Jack Frost. Um, I’m registered as John Doe.” The boy glanced at Peter as he spoke. He’d never admitted that to him before, but the man didn’t seem surprised.

“Uh huh.” The officer replied, voice disbelieving. “Social Security number?”

“I don’t think I have- do John Does even get Social Security numbers?”

Mozzie looked up, ready to say that he knew a guy that could help with that when Peter sent him a glare and the man stopped, mouthing ‘we’ll talk later’ to the teen.

“All right kid, just tell me your real name.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “If it’s not even on police records what make you think I can tell you? Look, do you want to talk to my guardian or what? Still a minor here.”

“I- yes, yes I would.”

“Ok, here he is, Special Agent Peter Burke.”

Peter rolled his eyes, as though he hadn’t really expected the teen to mention his title. Though really the man shouldn’t have been surprised. “Burke speaking.”

Jack smiled softly as he watched the man, all business on the phone as he tried to convince the officer that Jack had no legal identity beyond that of ‘John Doe’, who would be nearly impossible to find. As he spoke the man would occasionally glance at Jack, as though not entirely certain that he was telling the truth, but the agent had just as much information as the teen had. He couldn’t remember his life before John Doe, so for the moment John Doe was all he was. That would change though, soon. As soon as he finished his job with the FBI, or with the Guardians. It wouldn’t be long. The dance was in five days, and the Pookas or whatever would be getting back with them in a week or two. He could wait it out.

The teen jumped when Peter’s hand landed on his shoulder. “Huh?”

“Officer Meekins would like to ask some questions about the man you saw in the park.” The man smiled softly. “Though by now I’m sure you’ve dropped a few rungs down on his suspect list.”

Jack grinned back at the man, feeling a trill of amusement before the weight of reality dropped his mood once more. Right, he’d been a suspect because the kids had been taken. Because they didn’t know about Pitch.

“Hello?”

“Right, so, um Frost. Since we have the, um, paperwork issues settled. The reason why I called initially was to ask you a few questions about the roasted nut seller that you had noticed. He seems to be our main suspect at the moment, and we are having a difficult time finding anyone who was at the park that day.”

“Okay, sure. Anything I can do to help,” The teen replied, his voice bright and hopeful even as he sat down against the stairs as though unable to hold himself up.

“Could you describe him for me?”

“Uh, He was wearing an apron and matching hat, beard. Wasn’t much taller than me, like 5’10”- ish I guess.”

“Race?”

“White? I think.”

“Hair color?”

“Black and gray.”

“Age?”

“I don’t know, mid- thirties to mid-fourties?”

“Weight?”

“What the- I don’t know! It’s not like he got on a scale or anything.”

“Your best estimation please.”

“140ish? Maybe. Like, he looked average, whatever that weight is. Not fat exactly, not really scrawny either, or muscular really. Like, I would definitely try but I don’t think I could really pick him up out of a crowd. Like, if you had pictures I might be able to, but his beard and hat covered most of his face and, you know, it’s winter and he walks around outside all day. He was kinda bundled up. Green coat, black scarf, those weird tan work gloves. He didn’t look interesting enough to remember, honestly. The most memorable thing about him was the nut cart.”

“Can you remember anything about the cart then?”

“Um,” The teen fell back to lay against the uneven pattern of the steps, his head falling back to thump against the top one he could reach. “Weird color scheme I guess. Gold, black and grey.” Of course, Pitch’s favorite colors. “Big gold letters on the side that said ‘We’re All Nuts Here’, which, yeah, accurate.”

For a moment the voice at the other end of the phone was muted, as though speaking to someone in the room with him. “Run a check on that name ‘We’re All Nuts Here’. Was the entire cart just for show or did he have nuts to sell to avoid suspicion?” He asked Jack.

“No, the day I saw him it was all fully functional. I even- oh man, I bought all of the kids some nuts. You don’t think that’s what caught his interest do you? I man, I got them, what if he thought they were homeless or something or runaways or hungry or-“

“Calm down Mr. Frost.” A cool voice at the other end of the phone commanded, unaware that despite the panic and hysteria in his voice, Jack’s expression and mood had yet to change. He knew exactly who had the kids and exactly why he took them. He also knew it was all his fault. “I’m sure that your purchase had little to do with the kidnapping.” Wrong.

“R-right. Anyway, I got nuts for all the kids and he even gave me a bag for free, some kind of reward for a good deed kind of thing. He seemed like a good guy.” But you could never trust anyone. How many times did that have to be proven before it finally sunk in?

“Did you notice anything odd about the nuts?”

“Like what? You think they were drugged?” Jack surged into an upright sitting position, his eyes blown wide as he remembered the nightmares plaguing his mind throughout that night. Peter looked up with wide eyed concern and motioned over to the table.

“Why don’t we put this on speakerphone?”

“R-right. Um, Officer Meekins? I’m- Peter wants to go on speakerphone so he can try and help, is that ok?”

The teen could sense the hesitation on the other end of the phone before the officer acquiesced. “Case like this, I’d do a lot to make sure those kids come back.”

“Yeah, thanks. Um, so where were we?”

“I asked about the nuts.” The man answered, his voice loud and tinny from the phone.

“Right. Um, they looked a little darker than usual I guess, more black than brown.” Nightmaresand was black. How had he not seen this? “When I got home I was exhausted and passed out. But we were at the park for like, an hour after eating the nuts and I didn’t feel anything weird until after I’d gotten back to the house. It had been a busy day, I mean, I can’t tell you for certain that there was anything weird in the nuts.”

“Any hallucinations?”

“I had nightmares, but not until I went to sleep.”

“Other events from earlier that week could have caused the nightmares too.” Peter cut in.

Jack glared at him before sighing. “One of my friends got hit by a car, so, not the best week. The free food actually used to be one of the highlights. Hey, wait a sec.” The teen turned to his bag, rifling through it for a long moment. He couldn’t remember eating the nuts after Jamie asked him to play, but he was almost certain that he’d had most of a bag left. “Yes! I still have some of the nuts!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! One of us could bring it over in the morning or-“

“We still have some people in the lab. Give me your address, I’m sending the nearest patrolling cop over to get it.” The man paused for a moment. “Technically we should be having this conversation in person, either me over there or you in one of the interrogation rooms, but…”

“But I’m not a suspect, right? And there’s an FBI agent right here. And I’m a minor! And I really, really don’t want to go to the precinct.”

The officer sighed. “I will need you come down tomorrow. Go over anything we miss tonight and maybe get a police sketch.”

Jack nodded, though the man couldn’t see him. He could come as early as the man needed, he didn’t have school on Sundays. He told the man as much and they settled on an early morning meeting. “Does this mean we’re done for tonight?”

“Not yet, sorry kid. I have a few more questions. Had you seen him in the park before that day, did it seem as though he were scoping the place out?”

“That was the first I’d seen of him, but I hadn’t been to the park in a while. That Thursday was the first time I’d stayed that long in a couple weeks. He didn’t come until later in the afternoon, almost dinnertime. Usually if I go I just stay for an hour or so. Especially since…” He looked up at Peter. “Especially recently.”

“Mmh hmm. Just got the report back. There are no nut carts in town registered under that name. We’re going to ask around, but from preliminary questioning it doesn’t seem that anyone else noticed the man.”

“There wouldn’t be.” Jack admitted. “By the time he came it was pretty much just me and the kids.”

“Can you think of anyone else who might have seen him?”

“I did.” Neal suddenly spoke up, his face somewhat scrunched in concentration.

“You did?” Neal and Peter exclaimed in surprise as the officer shouted “Who’s that?”

“My CI,” Peter answered as the conman began speaking.

“He was pretty much fleeing from the park, but I do remember a man pushing a big black and gold cart. I can’t give you anything much more than that, but at least that’s one more witness saying that he was there. Thursday at least.”

“Good.” The officer said, sounding relieved. “Another witness is always nice. You say you can’t remember anything else about the man?”

“I remember thinking it was weird that he left just when the empty park was actually getting filled up with people who could actually buy the nuts, but knowing what we do now I guess it makes sense.”

The officer was silent for a long, tense moment. “Are you saying that when it was just Mr. Frost and the children the man stayed in the park, but he left once more people, specifically adults, arrived?”

“I guess?”

“Ok, look. Mr. Burke, since you’re in law enforcement I won’t push police watch unless you want it, but I don’t want Frost going out alone for the next few days, especially not to that park.”

“What?” The teen asked, feel a deep sense of utter confusion and shock.

“You say that you didn’t eat all of the nuts, but afterwards they possibly made you feel drowsy. This ‘nut man’ apparently stayed in an empty park where he was certain not to get any business, watching you children, and only left when other adults entered the scene. I don’t want to scare you, that’s why I’m offering a cruiser watch, but I think you were a target too.”

Jack felt a shaky gasp force it’s way through his throat and he sat heavily onto the chair. It was true, without inside knowledge about the Guardians/ Pitch battle, it made sense. Jack grabbed at his head with a low groan as he realized that even knowing it made sense. He must have been the target the entire time. The kids were just- just collateral or a consolation prize or something. Pitch had wanted Jack this whole time, it was all his fault. _Everything_ was always _His Fault!_

The boy was dimly aware of Peter, Neal, Mozzie, and Elizabeth, hovering and calling for him, attempting to calm him down. A mug of hot coco was stuffed into his hands, but he could only stare at it blankly.

“It’s my fault.” He admitted, looking up to meet Neal’s eyes, beseeching the man to understand. “I need to fix it.”

“No Jack.” The man replied, two pairs of icy blue eyes locked onto the other. “This is not your fault and whatever you’re thinking of right now? Whatever plan you’re attempting to cook up, stop. Now. It’s a stupid plan, paved with good intentions, but put in practice it’ll be like trying to walk across a chasm on tinfoil. I know Jack because you and I have a lot in common.” Neal said, desperately repeating his words from weeks before, that night in their loft when Jack was hiding his pain so much more effectively than now. Still, the man felt a trill of pride when the familiar words brought a spark of interest into the boy’s eyes.

“I know how you think, because I think the same way. First rule of being a conman:”

“Always be the smartest one in the room.” Jack mumbled in response. Neal nodded, but It was Mozzie who finished for him.

“Second rule: if you outnumber them, outfight them, or charm them, then outmaneuver them.”

Neal nodded. “Third rule: Emotions are the enemy of planning. Don’t plan until you can think. Are you thinking clearly right now Jack?”

The teen said nothing for a long moment, his face scrunched into a stubborn scowl before he finally sighed and admitted. “No.”

“Do you have a way to outmaneuver Pitch?”

“No.”

“If you were to storm that labyrinth, march up to Pitch and demand to take the children’s place, surrounded by enemies and talking to a man who owed you nothing, has a penchant for lying, and purposely took kids who knew you cared about, who would be the smartest person in that room?”

For a moment Jack looked utterly shocked, as though he couldn’t believe that the man had seen his plan and picked it apart so effectively. Finally though, he sighed. “Pitch.”

Neal’s stern face softened. “You thinking straight again?”

“I guess.” Jack grumbled back.

“It’s a good thing I got Meekins to hang up before all this.” Peter said wryly and Jack jumped.

“Oh, uh, sorry, I-“

“No problem.” The man replied kindly. “I told him you were a bit in shock and that you could talk again in the morning.”

“Right.” The teen said shakily before taking in another deep breath. “Right. Thank you. I’m just- If that’s all then I’m going to bed.”

“You sure you don’t want any dinner sweetie?” Elizabeth asked, her face soft and heartbreakingly concerned. “I could bring a plate up to your room.”

“No thanks. I just- I kinda just want to sleep so that this day can be over.”

“Of course.” She replied in soft understanding as the teen made his way up the stairs, leaving the adults to sit for a moment in total silence.

Finally, after a long moment Elizabeth left to get the meal, the movement prompting conversation to start again.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Peter whispered. “There are kidnapped children, stuck in a vipers nest and I can’t get them out. Meanwhile Jack is insanely convinced that this is his fault and, as great as your pep talk was, it’s not going to take much to send him back to plan ‘A’ and ending up with them.”

“He’ll be ok.” Neal argued. “He just needed someone to set his head straight. He might still go in and try and find Pitch or something equally stupid, but now he’d go in with a plan. I promise you that.” Mozz was nodding beside him, but seemed to be off in his own world of thoughts and calculations. “He just needed someone to ground him, act as an anchor.”

“Speaking of,” Mozzie interrupted. “Did you find his sister yet?”

“How does that relate to- never mind.” Peter shook his head. “No, the office has been swamped, Pitch’s doing I guess. Or at least a by product of it. Our department hasn’t had this many high profile arrests in years. Any time we have time it’s either late, during working hours, or at a time that Jack could pop up any minute.”

Neal hummed in agreement. “We need a time that we can talk to them when we know Neal is going to be gone and they probably won’t be working.”

“Like tomorrow while Jack is talking to the cops?” Elizabeth asked as she set down the last platter. “I could take him, we could go out to lunch after and maybe even get him a new suit for the dance. That should give you plenty of time.”

The men exchanged a glance but none could come up with suitable argument. Peter knew that Meekins would be expecting him, but El could just tell the officer that he had urgent work to do with one of his CIs, the man would assume and it would give them a good block of time to call. “Keep the suit receipts.” Peter replied. “The FBI will pay you back.”

“Hmm,” The woman began with a soft smile. “No, if I pay for them then I get to keep them. Never know when a handsome young man like Jack would need a suit.”

“If he stays with us.” Peter sighed. The woman frowned, as though only now remembering that Jack had only promised to stay temporarily.

“We’ll make him.” She said, voice booking no room for argument.

Peter cast his wife a fond smile, though could help the frown that crossed over his face as he glanced up the stairs where Jack’s door sat firmly shut and glanced down again to see the empty plate that had been set out for him. “Keep the receipts.”


	28. The Telephone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winding down to the end guys!

Peter and Neal were on the phone no later than five minutes after Jack left with Elizabeth. Unfortunately their haste was unneeded, as the call rang only a few times before going to voicemail. They left a message and waited 45 minutes before giving into the temptation to call again, only for the phone to go to voicemail once more. Peter growled at his phone for nearly a full minute until Neal offered the possibility that the family was at church or something and the man agreed to simply wait it out. Finally the man called back at nearly 11, apologizing profusely.

“No sir- no, it’s no problem.” Peter replied, any earlier anger washed away with the relief that he finally contacted the family. “This is Peter Burke speaking, do you mind if I put you on speakerphone?”

“Um, no, sure go ahead. This is the FBI agent right? Look, I mean, I’d help you with whatever I can, but I think you may have gotten the wrong number or something.”

“That’s me. Don’t worry, as far as I know, you’re not in any trouble. I just wanted to speak to you about Emma.”

“Emma? Why? I thought the adoption went through, I have all of the paperwork and everything. I swear she’s legally ours.” The man insisted, his voice tinging on a bit of panic as though worried that Peter was planning to take their daughter away. The agent hesitated for a moment, but that was all it took before Neal was suddenly speaking, his voice clear and charming even through the tinny phone.

“Sorry, we called about a personal matter, not a professional one.”

“O… kay. So, what does my daughter have to do with your personal business.”

Peter sat back and let Neal take the reins for a moment, though he reserved the right to take them back any time he wanted.

“Well, technically it’s her brother that we’re interested in.”

“Oh. Um, one second.” There was the distant sound of movement over the phone, ending with the soft thud of a door closing as though the man wanted to talk in private. “I- I’m really sorry but… he died a while back. Fell into a lake in winter, they say there was no way he could have survive. I’m sorry but I never met him. It happened a while before we got Emma. It- it really tore her up, you know? Happened right in front of her eyes and everything, only a few years after their parents and… well it wasn’t good. Part of the reason why we moved out here actually.

“We knew we wanted to adopt Emma, but it was rough for her, having to walk down the same streets he used to walk her down, seeing their favorite spots to play, the restaurants they went to together. At one point she came home in tears saying that she saw his ghost playing with kids in the park. The company I work for had a branch in this small town in Pennsylvania, Burgess it’s called. It’s as different from New York as you could get. I mean, the pay isn’t as good, but she really needed to get away.”

“She’s happier now then.”

“Yeah.” The man said softly. “She is.”

For a long moment the silence stretched, until Peter cleared his throat to speak. “Well, that’s what we wanted to talk to you about. Jack isn’t dead.”

“What?” The man asked, voice breathless.

“We found him on the streets and are kind of taking him in. He hasn’t mentioned his sister or anything, but I wanted to do some digging before I let him into my wife and I’s home. He survived the fall, must have crawled out while his sister was gone to get help, and ran off to one of the camping cabins until he was discovered and brought to the hospital. He refused to tell anyone his name or who he was, and was eventually just put back into the system as a John Doe.”

Neal suddenly moved to stand closer to the phone. “The shock of the cold made him lose the pigmentation in his hair, and he’s really pale and skinny now. It’s highly likely that the “ghost” Emma saw had actually been Jack.”

“Really?” The man replied, his voice still full of breathy wonder. “But then why… why didn’t he try to find her? The social worker said that they were close, joined at the hip. Why would he just… just abandon her like that?”

“We weren’t sure.” Peter replied. “That’s one of the reasons we contacted you. You don’t know Jack, but you do know Emma, and the best guess we have is that he left for her. We’re thinking that it may have something to do with how hard it is for sibling groups to get adopted together, maybe hoping that she would find a nice family if he wasn’t there.”

“I don’t… I don’t know. Him dying… it really wrecked her bad. And he was just a kid, how could he plan something like that? How old would he have been at the time, 11, 12?”

“About. But he wouldn’t have necessarily had to plan it.” Neal offered. “The fall could have been an accident and he just… took advantage of the situation.”

            The man sighed wearily. “I don’t know. But.” He began, renewed vigor in his voice. “If Emma’s brother really is still alive up there, she has to know. I had to come up next weekend for a business meeting anyway. We’ll all come up, and we need to see him.”

            “Of course.” Peter replied, nodding to the phone. “You can come over to meet at our place.”

            “Maybe keep it as a surprise until then? I’m honestly not sure how she’d react if I told her beforehand.”

            Neal and Peter shared a look. They weren’t sure how Jack would take it either. “Will do.”

            “Great.” The man said emphatically. “I’ll contact you later to work out the details. Or, more likely I’ll give the phone to my wife. She’s better at that kind of stuff.”

            “Alright. Thank you.” Peter replied before ending the call. “Well. That was…”

            “Sweet but unhelpful?” Neal offered.

            “Yeah.” The man said shortly before sighing. “I guess we just assume that we were right about him leaving for Emma.”

            “Despite the large number of holes?” Neal asked, rolling his eyes.

            Peter grunted, but wasn’t sure what to say beyond that. “How do you think he would react if we asked him outright?”

            “Not sure.” Neal frowned. “The two of us are alike in a lot of ways, and I can tell you that I wouldn’t be happy…”

            “But?”

            “He’s flighty at the worst of time and unpredictable at the best. I’m not really sure what he would do.” The man said uncertainly. “Kid’s hard to get a read on for some of this stuff.” He said with a sigh, the words feeling like ash in his mouth as he admitted the struggle. Suddenly though, the man grinned. “Look on the bright side. We get to try and come up with a way to make sure he stays for at least a week after the case.”

            Peter groaned. Yes, because making him sit still _for_ the case hadn’t been difficult enough.

* * *

 

   Jack groaned as Elizabeth shoved yet another overpriced piece of tailored cloth into his arms. “Come on, what about the last one? That one worked.”

            “It hung off you like it was three sizes too big.”

            “Everything does that though. My skinny jeans look baggy.”

            “Yes, well, I’m going to make sure you actually look presentable for the dance.” The woman insisted, shooing the boy off into the dressing room, not that the teen let a small door stop his complaints.

            “You do realize this is like, an FBI mission right? I’m not really some freshman going starry eyed at their first dance, it’s for work.”

            “All the more reason for you to look professional, then.” She reasoned, and Jack groaned as recognized her point. “Besides, I always looked forward to playing dress up with my kids, and Satchmo just doesn’t look good in a tux.”

            There was a drawn out silence before Jack finally let out a longsuffering sigh and the sounds of rustling cloth continued. “Alright, alright, I’m putting it on.”

            The woman smiled softly and leaned against the wall, a small smile on her face until Jack stepped out in the coal black suit and it fell to a frown. “I don’t know. That black, it makes you look way too pale.”

            “I _am_ pale.” Jack countered, though his voice was now lightly teasing rather than complaining.

            The woman rolled her eyes, but smiled. “I still don’t like it.”

            “You don’t like this black suit? Okay, why don’t we try that charcoal-colored one. Oh, there’s a night shade over there. Oh look, onyx.”

            The woman smiled fondly at the boy, but did eye the room searching for any suit that wasn’t black. She giggled softly as she spotted the classic prom-comedy blue and white atrocity. Jack followed her gaze and gasped. Leaping for the bizzare suit immediately. “Jack, no. We’re not getting that one, it looks ridiculous.”

            “Don’t care. I’m trying it on.” And he was gone. El simply shook her head and continued to search for any tux that wasn’t black. Or powder blue. Or purple velvet. Why was that one even here?

            “Yoo hoo.” A teasing voice sounded from behind and the woman turned, ready to laugh only to pause. The suit was slightly darker than they usually were, closer in color to his hoodie than an ugly powder blue. The suit, mostly designed for younger patrons attending proms, fit Jack better than many of the others had. Even the bowtie, obviously and only slightly askew, seemed to match the boy’s personality. He looked… good.

            The woman sighed. “Find a shirt without ruffles and you have a deal.”

            “Yes!” The boy cheered, rushing back to the changing room to find the best fitting shirt. Moments later the two were leaving the store, suit and shoes in hand.

            The teen shifted awkwardly as he put the bags in the car. “So, uh, I’ll be back in time for dinner, but I have-“

            “Guardian things?”

            “Yeah.”

            The woman nodded, her eyes wide and caring. “Be safe Jack.”

            “I’ll try.”

            “And be good.”

            “Now you’re just pushing it.” He laughed, before turning and disappearing into the crowd.

* * *

 

“And you’re sure this is where the kids are being kept? It’s hard to gauge distances in the tunnels.”

            “No, no, I’m sure.” Jack insisted, leaning over the map and eying the place Tooth was pointing to. “There was a window you could see from outside under this building here. The kids were asleep, but I left a message on the window. None of the Nightmares should notice, but if Jamie sees it then he should know that it’s from me.”

            The woman hummed as Bunny shoved a sketchbook between Jack and the map. “This what the room with the cells looked like?”

            Jack nodded, impressed at the replication. “Looks perfect.”

            “Now, describe to me the layout of the place. Think you could gimme a map from the closest door.”

            “Mmm hmm.”

            “The guards too.” North cut in. “Where were they stationed?”

            “Right. Well, I entered underneath the starbuck on 3rd, using this service tunnel thing and there were three halways. On the last one I-”

            For hours they worked through the information, going through it forwards and backwards, only pausing for mere moments throughout the day spent calming down Sophie, who was beginning to notice the absence of her brother and mother and the unfamiliarity of the world around her. Finally, as night approached they had a stack of papers holding every iota and detail of information they had gathered, all ready to be presented the instant the Pooka replied.

            Jack sat back in one of the chairs, Sophie bouncing happily on his lap, and looked over the sketches Bunny had done once more. “Not bad.”

            “Not bad yourself.” The Austalian replied. Jack cast him a grin before straightening, knowing that Elizabeth would be expecting him back soon.

            “Call me if you think of anything.” He said as he stood, nodding to Baby Tooth as he left.

            “See you at school.”

            “How can you think about school at a time like this?”

            “Believe me,” Jack groaned. “I don’t want to. But the dance is this Friday, and the sooner we can get the FBI thing off our plate, the better.”

            A disgruntled look crossed BT’s face, but she nodded. “I guess I’ll see you then.”


	29. The Vantage Point

Jack took a deep breath as he stared at himself in the mirror, eyeing his white suit with care as he slicked back his hair and straightened his bow tie.

“You look fabulous.” Elizabeth smiled, fiddling with the boy’s tie as well.

“Thanks.” The teen grinned, slipping his phone into his pocket, triple checking to ensure that the sound was on. Bunny said that the Pooka could contact them any time now, and if they did then getting to the workshop to fill the trucks took precedent over, well, everything. He told Peter and the man agreed, rescuing children was more important than finding a high profile but relatively harmless smuggler any day, and if the man couldn’t convince Jack to let him send an agent to replace him, then the teen would have to go. Still, the boy knew that all fingers were crossed that he would be able to finish the mission. Of course, none of them knew that their targets were the Guardians… but still.

The boy turned to where Elizabeth still sat with a proud smile on her face. “Nervous?” She asked.

“Kinda.” He admitted.

“Because of the dance, or because of the mission?”

“Um. Both?”

The woman opened her mouth, no doubt to pass on some calming adage, when suddenly the bell rang                                                                                            

The woman brightened. “Oh, she’s here!” And she was on her feet and out the door in a second, leaving Jack to call after her.

“But we’re going to her house!”

But the woman was too far gone to hear him. The boy shook his head and slowly followed, only to be nearly bowled over by Mozzie running up the stairs yelling. “She messaged me back! She messaged me back!”

“Um, good for you, Moz. Maybe ask Neal for the flirting advice though, not me.”

“What? No! The Vulture!”

“The… vulture…”

“Yes, Jack! Vulture, the hacker!”

“Wait, you mean Pitch’s hacker?” The teen exclaimed.

“Yes!”

“Really? You know them?”

“I thought it might be her, she’s brilliant, but she would never do what Pitch is doing. Not knowingly at least. She is against oppression, determined that everyone should know the truth of what the Government is keeping from us and-“

“Mozz!”

“Right, sorry. There was a bit of… miscommunication last time we met-“

“Mozzie burned her phone number to show that he didn’t want any ties to hold him down.” Neal said with a smirk as he joined the two shorter thieves. Jack tsked at the man.

“I had it memorized!”

“But you never called, did you?”

“I messaged her!”

“Yeah two weeks ago, years after she gave you the number.” Neal smirked.

“Whatever, the important thing is, she replied!”

“Uh huh.”

“And, she agreed to meet with me for dinner. I just have to show her the truth about Pitch, maybe sweet talk her a little, and boom! Hacker problem solved.”

“No way! That’s amazing, I gotta call the Guardians and-“

“When?” Neal suddenly interrupted.

Mozzie frowned and looked down to his phone. “She wouldn’t tell me. She said today or tomorrow, when she’s cleared her schedule. I think she’s just trying to make me sweat for not calling her back.”

“Well then can’t you try and convince her to meet earlier? I mean, the sooner, the better.”

“I’m not exactly in a good bargaining position here, Jack.”

“And we don’t want to force Pitch into a position where he acts before we can respond. We’ll be done around 9 tonight anyway, and then you’ll be free to help the Guardians if Pitch does anything drastic in response.”

“Right.” Jack said, biting his lip. The prom started at 7, he was supposed to give Neal 2 hour’s playing card with Noel, spending the time dancing with “Bethany” until a little before 9 o’clock when he would fake some emergency. Really he could even stay at the dance, he just had to make sure the limo driver called back with something important enough that Noel would be on his way. He already had that planned, Evan and Chloe were helping with that.

And they wouldn’t even be able to sneak off to help the Guardians in the meantime was the killer part, half the supervisors were FBI agents sent in to manage the case. So he was actually going to have to go to the dance, actually dance with Baby Tooth, and actually slip away when Evan makes his move. It was going to be a full night.

“Don’t worry.” Neal said, placing a comforting hand on the teen’s shoulder. “Mozzie will keep us updated.”

“Right, thanks. I just-”

“Time to go!” Peter’s voice boomed to the waiting trio. Neal turned to grin at Jack.

“Well? Don’t want to keep the date waiting.”

The teen shook himself off, since Peter likely already knew, he’d call the Guardians from the car. “Right, here we go."

* * *

 

   “Have fun,” Neal said as he slammed the limo door shut on Jack and his date, both teens still somewhat blind from the barrage of photos that were sure to someday be used as blackmail. Still the boy managed to wave back dazedly, slumping back in the chair as soon as the car drove away. Neal and “Noel” had had a fairly civil second meeting, soon “warming up to each other” as the conversation shifted to cards. A few other Yeti were there, people acting as friends of Noel and gamblers set out to liven up the games. When Noel, Phil, got the phone call that would make him leave, the others would as well, assuming that game night was over. Neal just had to linger in the back of the room until they all cleared out and he had the whole house and all of it’s secrets to explore. And the Guardians made sure that they would find enough for Jack’s mission to be over.

            Jack slumped down in his seat as the limo pulled away from the house. “Two more hours.” He said weakly.

            Baby Tooth laughed, “And then the real work begins.”

            “If the Pooka accept.”

            “They will. Trust me.”

            “Right.” Jack groaned.

            “Right.” B.T insisted.

            For a moment the car descended into silence before it was broken by Baby Tooth. “Hey, you can cover me if I have to disappear some time tonight, right? I mean, if it’s time to pack then they’ll text both of us, of course, but if something happens and I need to get to my computer and help…”

            “Only if you promise to cover for me if they need my help and not yours.” The teen returned. Not that there was much chance of that happening. They had a detailed map of where the kids were, exact knowledge of their aboveground location, anything useful that Jack could give. He’d gone back before everyone else woke up Monday to check his sign. It was faint, but the slightest hint of a smiley face drawn in the condensation of the glass stared back at him. His message had been received. The kids had hope. That was enough for Jack, for now at least.

The man driving them shifted in his seat, and Jack was reminded that for the yetis assigned to help out with the FBI problem there was absolutely no way to know if the Pooka had reached out to the Guardians. There was no way for them to help. The Guardians placed this as there top priority in hopes that it could be over and done with as painlessly as possible. There were still plenty of yeti at the workshop to help with the transfer, but Jack knew the expense must be killing the man. It was killing him and he knew that they would contact him. Technically Jack had the sweet end of the deal.

            “Deal.” The girl smiled.

            “Deal.”

            The dance went about as well as one could expect a dance to go when a dozen FBI agent were subtly breathing down your neck and the lives of six children could soon be resting on your shoulders. The two checked their phones nearly constantly, and Jack wasn’t terribly surprised when he left to get drinks and she wasn’t there when he got back. He made a show of looking around for her, but it was 8:42 anyway. Might as well call find Evan and Chloe, time to get this show on the road.

* * *

 

   Mozzie sat alone in the secluded table in the back of the restaurant. He’d gotten the text only minutes ago, the Vulture saying that her schedule was done and to find a place for them to meet for 9. She would know where to find him. The restaurant used a digital seating program and he’d made reservations under the name of the man they’d caught together. He knew she would show, right on the dot, not a minute more, not a minute less. It was her style. He just had to wait now, just had to wait.

* * *

 

  “Oops, sorry.” Evan cried out, helping the chauffer off the ground. Bill the yeti grumbled to himself, even as he assured the boy it was ok. Jack had insisted he stand outside the car to read, and while he was well prepared and warm, the wind was whipping the pages of his book around and he was only half paying attention, most of his focus on searching for the ‘sign’ Jack had assured him he would ‘know when he saw it’. He didn’t have time for the clumsy kid who fell into him.

            “Again, I’m really sorr-“

            “Evan!” A girl called, her hand waiving over the tops of the cars. “Hurry up! We’re missing the best parts of the party. If we don't hurry we're gonna miss the drinks. Bethany and Jack are ready and we have to drive them back before prom is over cause they’re just little sophomores.”

            “Then you shouldn’t have invited them to the _Senior_ party.” The boy mumbled to himself, yelling “Coming!” Only a moment later.

            Bill frowned as the boy ran off. Jack and Bethany. That was interesting, Bethany was the minitooth’s codename and- oh. Oooooooohhhh. Well, he supposed that worked.

* * *

 

   The game was in full swing, Neal could feel the burning gaze of one of his few remaining opponents, but forced himself to only glance at the man, coolly, confidently. He didn’t linger long enough for it to actually be considered staring back, but nor did he attempt to avoid eye contact. His posture gave nothing away, antagonizing them by being as un-antagonizing as possible.

            Finally the man folded, as did one of the others. The final man, Noel himself, called and Neal laid down his cards, revealing a hand that was slightly worse than the smuggler’s. He groaned good-naturedly as the man cheered and raked the chips, one of the others already drawing in the cards for the next deal. Neal had barely picked up his cards when the low ding of a text tone filled the air. Neal looked down to his cell, seeing a single message from Jack.

            _If you can, get out of the room in a min. This’ll work better if he doesn’t see you right after it happens._

            Neal let it go a few rounds around the table before folding and excusing himself to the bathroom. It must have been good timing, because only a few seconds after he left the shrill ring of a phone broke through the relatively silent room. Noel grunted before answering. “Hey Bill, what-“ For a good moment there was silence, and Neal found himself leaning forward in anticipation. Jack had refused to say his plan, saying only that it would work, he was sure of it. Neal was almost worried that it would involve the Greek fire Mozzie had showed him.

            “THEY WENT _WHERE?_ ” The man suddenly bellowed. “I knew I shouldn’t have let that brat take my daughter anywhere.”

            “What hap-“ One of those at the table- Will?- began, only to be cut off by a furious Noel.

            “That little-“ a stream of foreign words, each one fast and furious, presumably curses, flowed from the man’s mouth for almost a full minute until- “Drug my baby girl off to some upperclassman party away from the school. When I get my hands on him- get out of my way!” The man growled, the words punctuated by the heavy slam of the door.

            For a moment Neal could only stand frozen, hoping against hope that the other men would forget that the father of said boy was only a few rooms away. After a moment of awkward silence it would seem that they had. Or had just assumed that he’s run away instead of going to the bathroom. Chairs scraped against wood and the light sounds of farewells floated to where Neal stood waiting in the shadows until every last guest was finally gone. It was only then that he could breathe.

            Couldn’t Jack have thought have something that wouldn’t almost lead to ‘death-by-protective-father’? No, of course not, the boy probably though that this was hilarious. It had worked perfectly, too. And the boy was right, it was one thing that a man of Noel’s reputation was sure to respond to absolutely immediately.

            Neal sighed, a low smile blossoming on his face. Now, it was time to do what he was here to do.

* * *

 

   “Hello Mozzie.” A familiar voice sounded, and the man turned to see the beauty of the digital age smirking gently at him.

            “Ah, Vulture, how lovely to see you again.”

            “Yes. It’s been far too long.” She replied pointedly.

            “Uh, yeah, about that. Origionally, I had been planning to leave town and-“

            “Save it. I don’t care about what you did back then. I just want to know why you’re bothering me again now. What do you want?”

            “It’s not about what I need, it’s what you need to do. Or not do.”

            “What are you talking about?”

            “Look, your current employer, he’s bad news. Like, insane, and not in the good way. He-“

            “I’m leaving.”

            “Wait! No, listen.”

            “No. You listen. I’m auditioning to be a part of the Guardians. This guy is testing me, says I’ve almost passed. After tonight I’m going to be part of the underworld’s legends and you’re not messing this up for me.”

            “Wait, you think- you honestly think Pitch is a _Guardian_? He is not a Guardian, he’s anti-guardian! He- he kidnaps children!”

            “No he doesn’t. I haven’t heard anything about that.”

            “Oh yeah, have you been everywhere in his big labyrinth thing?”

            “I don’t have the clearance to go through the Guardian’s headquarters yet.”

            “What about the hacking stuff? Doesn’t anything he told you to do strike you as suspicious?”

            The woman paused, thinking of dozens of young girl’s faces streaming to her computer after hours of hacking work to get through the best firewalls she’d ever seen. She thought of what she had done that very night.

            “They’re tests.” She finally answered. “To asses my skill.”

            “That’s not what the Guardians do! That’s not how they are.”

            “Yes, because you know all about the Guardians. Not all conspiracy theories are right, Mozz.”

            “I know one of them! Personally. Look!” The man pulled out his phone, drawing out the contact labeled Jack, a blurry image of the teen’s face on the screen. “You hear about Jack Frost?”

            “Heard about him, didn’t hear anything about him being about a Guardian.” She grumbled before really looking at the phone, her breath catching as she saw the phone number on the screen. She did know about Jack Frost, the young pick pocket who spent his days at the park she liked to frequent. The polite teen who played with children and left them presents even though they never seemed to see him. The boy who had given bandages and joy to the child of a woman she’d seen begging on the streets. The boy who had the heart of what the Guardians stood for. The boy who, admittedly on a very small scale, fought against the unfairness of the world to give hope to those often ignored and looked down on. Just as she tried to do with her hacking skills.

And that number, his number. That was the number Pitch had given to her to block. He’d given her the number, commanded her to find a way to intercept and block any and all calls to it. The phone’s owner would never know anything was wrong, but no one would have any way to contact him. No one would be able to contact Jack, the boy who lived the life of a Guardian.

            Immediately a computer was on the table, hands moving furiously across the keys, but the majority of the damage was already done. What had she done?

* * *

 

    Making his way down the street from the dance Jack suddenly jumped as his phone roared to life. 23 missed text. 17 missed calls. 10 voicemail. From The Guardians, From The Guardians, From The Guardians.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... I can't write for the Vulture. Luckily, this is the only time she shows up!!   
> The story is coming to it's crest my faithful reader!


	30. Nothing Gold can Stay

Jack felt his heart fall into his stomach as he stared at the screen, even as he instinctively hit the callback button. The phone barely rung twice before it was picked up on the other end, a nearly endless litany of curses, cusses, and insults attacking the boy.

“Musta been dozens of Nightmares, coming in through _your_ post. Every basket in the truck was destroyed. An’ where were ya?” Aster continued to yell, “Off fooling around, couldn’t be bothered to show and-“

“I’m sorry, I’m on my way I swear. My phone didn’t ring. I had no idea I-“

“Save it! Don’ bother showin yer face around here. Didn’t ya hear? It’s over. You messed up.”

“B- but I didn’t mean- the phone- we can’t just give up right? What about the kids?”

“We got a yeti out to the pooka. They’ll only get the dry bones but it should be enough for them. We’ll rescue the kids, but you won’t have any part in it. You’re done. I knew this would happen.” The man growled. “You’re nothin’ but a little brat, doesn’t care ‘bout kids or anybody but ‘imself. You only ever mess things up. I knew we should never have trusted you. Don’t bother calling us back, brat. Yer better off alone.”

And with that the call ended, leaving Jack cold and hollow, his hands shaking as he allowed himself to collapse on the curb. They’d lost their chance. The Pooka would barely have enough information. The kids were in greater danger. And it was all his fault- all because he hadn’t been there. All because, in the end, he hadn’t been enough. He never would be. He’d thought he was a guardian? Yeah right, the guardian of everything wrong.

But- but no. That wasn’t true, was it? He would have come if he’d know. He would have. He’d have done anything for the kids, right? It wasn’t his fault. Please, please let it not be his fault. He just needed someone to tell him it was a mistake, someone to be on his side. He needed- he needed someone to be on his side.

The teen’s hands shook as he opened the phones contact list once more. And clicked Peter’s name. He needed to know that someone, at some point in time, had been on his side. He needed to know that someone loved him, even if they were gone. He needed to get his payment.

* * *

 

Peter growled low in his throat when his phone began to vibrate, but moved to pick it up regardless. His irritation only strengthened as the voice answered the phone.

“Peter, hey, I really need to talk to you about my fee for the whole Noel thing. I know we didn’t talk about it but-“

“Jack.” The man barked commandingly. This was the last thing he needed. They were still in the process of going through Noel’s mansion to make sure they got everything, the man already in prison, and that in itself would be a feat but it seemed like New York had picked that day to go crazy. New leads had suddenly popped up on no less than five of their biggest in process cases, not to mention the half a dozen other major white collar crimes that had been committed that night. There had been more museum heists in New York that night than in the year preceding it. The last thing he, or the department, needed was another thing to add to the pile. “We’ll talk later. I don’t have time for this right now.”

And without another word he hung up, already running to his car to pick up Neal to take him to the nearest crime scene, calling Diana as soon as he got in the car to keep him updated on the other crimes that had popped up.

* * *

 

 

For a long moment after Peter hung up Jack could only stare at his phone in a mixture of shock and confusion. Then, slowly, a bitter, broken laugh puffed out of his mouth. Of course. Why did he expect anything else? The job was done, they didn’t need Jack Frost anymore. Didn’t need him anymore, didn’t want him anymore, didn’t have time for him anymore. Why should he have expected any differently?

The boy growled angrily as he quickly brushed back the treacherous wetness threatening behind his eyes and with a yell of anger he pitched the phone at the ground with all the strength he could muster, watching with furious satisfaction as the screen shattered and bits of the device scattered.

“You know what?” He asked the device. “This is fine. Fine! I don’t care anyway. You can take your stupid deals and broken promises. My job is done. I DID MY PART! I DON’T NEED YOU ANYWAY!” The boy shouted before tapering off, finally noticing the looks that the other prom-goers were shooting his way.

He heard one girl mumble “Oh poor guy, she must have broken up with him,” Before the boy couldn’t take it anymore. With a snarl he stalked away. What was he even doing here? This wasn’t his world, wasn’t where he belong. He was playing the average kid, going to school, coming home to a hot meal, worried about homework and dances and relationships (kinda). It was all just fake, all pretend. Even the stupid Guardian thing, that was just pretend, being part of a group, having partners to help him get buy, the whole thing was nothing more than a business transaction, he’d made sure of that at the beginning. He’d been stupid to forget.

The boy slipped into an alley and up a fire escape at the first chance, trailing his own pathway until he came to where he stashed his old, ratty backpack and trusty staff. He wasn’t sticking around for this anymore.

* * *

 

“Get in.” Peter commanded tersely as he stopped in front of Neal. The man hurried to obey without comment as Peter continued to speak. “There’s twelve different places we should have been ten minutes ago and things keep on popping up.”

“Any connection?”

“Doesn’t seem to be.” The man growled as he weaved through traffic. “Some are good, some are sloppy, some the work of people we’ve been following for years, some we don’t recognize. All happened within the past hour.”

“What’s Jack doing?” The conman asked, completely throwing off the agent.

“Jack why do you- I don’t know, he’s still at the dance. Focus Neal.”

But the younger man was shaking his head. “I am focused. Peter, the Guardians were planning something big, Jack told us it was happening soon. And who’s the only person who has the sway to arrange something like this?”

“Pitch.” Peter breathed as a horrible weight of dread settled in his gut, but Neal already had his phone up to his ear, the man cursing as it went straight to a message saying the number was unavailable.

“He’s not picking up.”

“He called.”

“What?”

“Earlier, when I was on my way to get you, he called. He started asking about his payment and I just- I told him I didn’t have time and- and I hung up on him.” The man cursed loudly, striking the steering wheel with the palm of his hand.”

Neal shot the man a glare, but knew better than to waste time berating him. “I’m calling Mozzie.”

“Call Alex too.” Peter said as he parked the car, glancing at the FBI Agents streaming through the museum. “See if you can get her to tell us what’s going on.” The conman nodded, his fingers already typing in the girl’s familiar number.

* * *

 

“But if he was helping the Guardians, why would he call asking about payment, of all things?”

“I don’t know Mozz.” Neal grit out, but Mozzie simply continued to run his hands over his head in frustration. No no no, this was so wrong. He’d been trying to contact Jack since the Vulture told him that she was blocking his signal, but he’d only gotten a busy signal or the ‘this number is not available’ recording. Now Neal was calling and- and it was just all going wrong.

“Was it code maybe? A cry for help? What exactly did he say?”

“I don’t know, Peter talked to him.”

The thief groaned. “Well maybe his fee is the clue. What did he want?”

“I don’t know.” Neal moaned. “Huges tried to get him to agree on a payment the day they met in the office, but he always refused, said he had to make sure another deal didn’t go through.”

“Another de- The Guardians! He wanted a backup in case they didn’t, or couldn’t, deliver.”

“Yeah, problem is we could never get him to tell us what that was.”

Mozzy stood to pace. “We know it’s probably not money. It probably isn’t anything he could sell for money either.”

“Peter and I decided a while back that it was probably information.”

“Good call,” the bald man hummed. “What about his- uh- his sister! Maybe he wants to know where she is.”

Neal made a small sound of agreement. “But why now? Why not wait until the business with the Guardians is over.”

Mozzy sighed. “It could be over for Jack already.” He admitted.

“What?”

“I met with the vulture tonight. She was working with Pitch. She’d been blocking Jack’s cell. If something went wrong and the Guardians were trying to reach him but couldn’t-“

Neal groaned, though it was true that if the thieves had fired Jack or something, it would explain him calling Peter and why he wanted the information so quickly. Still… “I don’t know Mozz, it makes sense, but the whole thing with Jack and his sister never made sense to me. We’re missing something there.”

“Do you have his files still?”

He did, they were hidden in the glove compartment of Peter’s car. “Of course.” The man relied, pulling them out and idly flipping through the pages. “But I’ve already looked through them a million times and...” The man trailed to silence as he really attempted to read through the medical terminology of the health records he’d been avoiding. He’d though he didn’t need to check, thought he knew what they would say. Severe hypothermia, loss of pigmentation in the hair, maybe a reference to frostbite. Turns out there was one more thing, one he hadn’t noticed. Closing his eyes the man let out one final defeated curse.

* * *

 

Pitch growled as the protections surrounding his technology crumbled. He’d sent a virus of the Vulture’s own creation the instant one of his Nightmares noticed the attack, but he was too late to protect his devices. Still, Vulture, the traitor, would have to switch to a different computer. That gave him just enough time. The man ordered one of his other hackers to manually remove the hard drive and completely wipe the computers. The man wasn’t nearly as competent as Vulture, but he would be able to do that much. Most IT workers would be able to handle it. He didn’t like relying on second best, but Vulture made it clear that she was gone. Oh well, it was a good thing Pitch always made certain to have a backup plan.

“Boss.” A man said from behind. Pitch turned to see one of his men behind him in a tux.

“You better have brought me what I asked.” The man ground out, his joy at stopping the Guardians’ message diminished by the hacker’s betrayal.

The man nodded. “In the front room now, sir.”

A sickening, sharp grin crossed Pitch’s face. “Perfect. Now only one thing left to do.”

* * *

 

Neal was just getting off the phone when Peter returned, Mozzie promising to use whatever resources he could to find Jack as the man hung up. “Amnesia.” Was all he said as Peter dropped into the driver’s seat.

“What?”

Neal brandished the medical records from after Jack’s dip. “Amnesia, the missing piece, why nothing fit together. Jack never went to see his sister because he didn’t _remember_ her. He doesn’t remember anything.”

Peter felt himself go boneless in his seat at the realization. “So, the “payment” he’s so desperate for…”

“Is his identity. He wanted us to use FBI resources to find his family. We think he called because the Guardians fired him.”

Which meant that Peter had just told an amnesic kid desperate to find his parents that he didn’t have time for him. Great. “Great.”

“Mozz will find him.” Neal insisted. “I think he was planning to call Elizabeth to help. We’ll just have to focus on this for now. But as soon as they find him, we’re having a talk. All of us.”

“Right.” Peter responded, still sounding somewhat miserable as he pulled out of the parking spot. “What did Alex say?”

“Couldn’t get ahold of her, which probably means she’s busy.”

“Which means you were right about Pitch.”

Neal nodded and Peter sighed. “Right. Well, don’t just sit there. Check out Diana’s email and work on how we could convince a judge that these were all connected.” With that, the man turned his eyes to the road to stop in at the next crime scene, though from the corner of his eyes he vainly searched for a familiar skinny frame wrapped in a large blue hoodie.  


	31. Fear Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So good news and bad news.  
> Good news: SUMMER IS HERE!! I'm out of school and should be back to my weekly schedule from last summer!!!  
> Bad news: We are quickly coming to a close. Only three chapters left and one is the epilogue... ish thing. It's been a great ride so far! I hope you like the ending! I somehow even have a bit of foreshadowing despite the fact that I didn't know how I was ending this story until around chapter 25, haha.

A lonely figure sat huddled in a large blue hoodie, the ends of ratty jeans brushing against the dust ground of the train station. Jack sat on a bench, a ticket in hand and pocket full of the money he’d gotten pawning the suit. His hair was once more the color of snow. He’d gotten some dye remover and spent the last twenty minutes in the station bathroom getting rid of the brown. After all, he had time. The next train didn’t leave for another twenty minutes. He didn’t bother double checking the ticket, or checking it at all really. He didn’t care where he was going, so long as it was away. It was time to face the facts, he’d been staying based on the vain hope that something, anything, would trigger his memory and help him to actually know who he was and what he was doing, but the fact was that it wasn’t going to happen. If he had parents that actually cared then he would have seen his picture on a milk carton years ago. If he was going to get his memory back then it would have happened already.

He didn’t need all of the false hope he’d been living off of. He didn’t need a town where he would spot Mozz or Neal at the park and feel the need to leave. He didn’t need to be tempted by the scent of food every time he walked down Peter’s street. He didn’t need to see the coffee shop he’d always gone to when meeting Baby Tooth. He didn’t need to see kids hanging out in an overpriced school uniform like he’d once worn. He didn’t need to walk past the courthouse and cross the street to avoid the candy shop, or North’s toyshop. He didn’t need to flinch every time he saw the Library, remembering the screech of tires and a body flying. He didn’t need to feel the need to leave the park as soon as Jamie and friends came around. He didn’t need to gag at the scent of cinnamon roasted nuts. He didn’t need constant reminders of a life of pretend and false promises and stupid hopes. Because those were the only memories that would ever come. He would never remember life before Jack Frost, only the mess up of his life as Frost. So he would cut his losses, see what other big cities could offer.

Peter and Neal had been solving cases before he’d come around and they’d continue solving them when he was gone. The Guardians could save the kids better if he wasn’t there. He would only ever get in the way.

The boy leaned forward to peer down the tracks, anxious for the train to arrive so that he could just start over, but he saw nothing. He shifted in his seat, eyes roaming the empty station before falling on the ancient payphone that sat on a wall. He didn’t care about this life or anyone here. He didn’t. But… Elizabeth would be disappointed. She wouldn’t understand why he left. Mozzie would be sad that he never said goodbye. He wanted to hear Baby Tooth’s voice one more time before he cut all ties. But… would that make things better or worse? He didn’t know. He’d never had anyone really to say goodbye to.

Maybe he should just call. But what if they convinced him to stay? If they did, didn’t that mean he didn’t really want to go? No. He had to go. But he wanted to call. The teen glanced down at the ticket stub. When he got there. He would call when the train stopped, say his goodbyes, but by then it would too late for them to stop him. The boy was still staring at the phone when a large, meaty hand gripped the back of his hood.

Without thinking the boy gripped the staff still in his hand and plunged it back, sinking it into his attacker’s gut as Jack grabbed the top of the bench and flipped over like a gymnast. He landed neatly on his feet, the bench between him and the angry man that had attacked. Wait, scratch that. Men. There were three of them at least, each one sneering at Jack, even the one clutching his stomach.

“Look,” Jack began placatingly, eyes flicking to the tracks in the vain hope that the train decided to arrive fifteen minutes early. “I’m sure this is just a mistake and, hey, I’m not feeling too chummy with the police right now, so what do you day we go our separate ways.”

“No can do kid.” Ugly 2 answered. “Pitch wants you.”

“Oh. Him.” The boy said flatly. “Look, you can tell him that he doesn’t have to worry about me anymore. I’m tired of all this guardian crap. In case the train station didn’t key you in, I’m kinda working on finding a way out of town so…”

“Doesn’t matter.” Ugly 1 replied, no longer grabbing his gut. “Pitch wants you, and we get Pitch what he wants.”

“Well. As stimulating as this conversation has been, I’m afraid no can do.” Jack took a step back, mind rushing, but none of the men had even bothered to attempt to come around the bench separating them. In fact, they didn’t come closer to Jack at all. That was Jack’s first sign that something here was messed up. Ugly 3 laughing was his second.

“Oh, I think yes can do.” The man said, holding up his phone, one of the new ones with the huge screens.

“Dude, that doesn’t even make sense.” The boy grumbled before focusing on the picture. A strangled gasp left the boy as he saw what was on the screen. It was a FaceTime, Pitch standing proud at the center of the screen. Baby Tooth sat, bound and gagged at his feet. The man grinned when Jack scrambled back in shock.

“Hello Jack,” The man greeted, his voice cool and cynical, as one of his hands came up to rest on the girl’s shoulder. “I would suggest going along with my men. You have so few people that bother to care about you, how sad would it be to have one less.” Baby Tooth flinched and whimpered as the man’s grip tightened on her shoulder, long fingers digging into her skin.

For a moment Jack was frozen, barely able to process the sight in front of him. This didn’t make any sense. Baby Tooth had left him at the dance, she’d gone to meet up with the guardians. Hadn’t she? Jack didn’t move until the Boogeyman’s hand left the girl’s arm to ghost along her throat.

“Wait, no!” He nearly shouted. “I’ll come, I’ll come.”

“Good boy.” Pitch grinned, and the video cut out.

Jack stayed numb and non-resisting as the men fit zip-ties around his wrists so that his arms sat bound behind his back. It wasn’t until he was in the back of their van that he recognized one of them as the man who kidnapped him from the park the day he’d been summoned to Neal’s apartment the first time.

“You!” The boy exclaimed in surprise before sneering. “So, what, your boss didn’t like that you couldn’t keep hold of a teenage boy so you went running off to someone who didn’t know your incompetence?”

The man gave a barking laugh “Ooh, incompetence, looks like wittle Jackie learned some new words. It’s a wonder what education can do for the stupid.”

“Doesn’t look like it did you any good.”

The man sneered back. “Besides, I don’t see you going anywhere this time. Wish I’d have known then that all it took was a pretty face.” The man shrugged. “Pitch pays better anyhow.” The man finished as the car finally pulled to a stop. Jack was pulled roughly to his feet by an iron grip to his hoodie as the man begun dragging him through the nondescript doors that would lead to the greatest collection of the New York underworld.

“Mmph!” Baby Tooth exclaimed when Jack was forced into the room, her wide eyed horror perfectly contrasting Pitch’s wicked grin.

“Welcome, Jack.”

Jack scowled at the man, moving to stand between him and BT, helping her up while never looking away from the man. “What was the point of this? In case you didn’t notice, I was kinda kicked out of the Guardians. I was leaving. So, just, let Baby Tooth go and neither of us will ever have to see each other ever again? Sound good to you? Cause it sounds great to me.”

BT, whose eyes had widened further and further in surprise as the teen continued, took this moment to nod furiously as though to show that it sounded good to her as well. Pitch however, was shaking his head. “No no, Jack. I knew you were leaving, I know that the Guardians used you and left you. Just like the FBI did. What was it Peter said? Oh yes, he just doesn’t have time for you now that you’re not helping out with his case. How sad, to discover he was just using you too. But he was worse than the Guardians, wasn’t he? Weren’t they all? After all, they actually pretended to like you, to care about you, when all they cared about was their case.

“But see, Jack, that’s the difference between me and them. They pretended to give you a family so that they could get your skills. While I… I am only interested in your talents, but if you join me then I’ll give you access to my little family.”

The boy snorted. “What family?”

“Why, the Nightmares. Think about it Jack, we’re a unit, a team. We spend time together, talk, play, fight.” By then the man had slunk over to Jack, painting pictures with his words and the fluid movements of his body. “We know each other’s strengths. And weaknesses, and we compensate for them. We trust one another. Everyone always has one another’s backs. Isn’t that what a family is, Jack? And the best part, you would never have to play pretend. I want you for you Jack. Because you’re smart, cunning, strong. You could do great things, with the proper tutor. I could train you. Together we would be unstoppable, there is nothing we couldn’t do. Soon, all of New York, all of America could be-“

“-Pitch Black?”

The man paused for a second before a sickeningly sweet grin was once more plastered to his face. “And Jack Frost too. And, if after everything, you aren’t content with our family then, well, I could certainly arrange that for you as well.”

He nodded to a man sitting at a nearby desk clutching a laptop with an external hard drive, the man turned the laptop so that the screen was facing Jack. It was a file, one clearly stolen from the FBI database. John Doe (AKA Jack Frost)

Jack felt his breath catch. They had a file on him. They had a whole file on him but they were too busy to just give it to him? He wasn’t worth ten seconds to send an email?

Pitch smiled at the betrayal written across the teen’s face. “If you don’t want to stay with me- with us- then I could give you this and you could finally get the answers everyone promised but no one delivered. You would finally know everything you ever wanted, maybe you would even begin to remember.” Baby Tooth gasped behind him, but neither male seemed to notice. “Think about it Jack, you and me, top of the heap, you with your answers and me with your loyalty. We’d live like kings, surrounded by people to cater to our every whim. We’d be envied and respected by all!”

“No.” Jack said suddenly, bluntly. “No, we’d be feared by all. And that’s not what I want.” He reached out to grip one of Baby Tooth’s bound hands in one of his own and began to turn. “Now for the last time, leave me alone.”

“Very well. You want to be left alone? Fine. But first…” Pitch snapped his fingers and suddenly Baby Tooth was ripped from Jack’s grip as the henchmen moved, tearing Jack one direction and the girl the other.

“Baby Tooth!” Jack yelled, fighting furiously against the grip encasing him, but the man lifted him to rest along his shoulder like a sack of flour, and try as he might but with his arms bound he simply couldn’t get any traction. No matter how much he squirmed and struggled, the man’s grip was like iron. The villain smirked at Jack as he led the men through the compound and into what looked almost like a kitchen. A group of men flowed into the room, and the Nightmare set Jack down as they surrounded him. Jack howled and screamed and kicked and hit and bit, but in the end there were too many of them, and frost was pinned to the Earth.

“Sorry Jack, but you have a bad habit of interfering. I can’t let you go. There’s too much of a chance that you’ll go running back to the Guardians. I just have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

One hand gripped his knee, another his ankle. Jack jerked his head up to see the man from the van. A door at the side of the wall was torn open, letting a gust of air into the room and revealing an empty windowless room. An industrial fridge. Baby Tooth was thrown roughly inside, landing with a cry that slipped from her gagged lips.

“No!” Jack shouted as they closed the doors, sealing the girl into the freezing, airtight room. A light, barely heard pounding sounded as the girl banged on the door, attempting to get to Jack.

“Look on the bright side Jack, you wanted to be left alone? Well now you will be.”

The Nightmare grinned, raising up one leg in preparation of bringing it down, the many hands on Jack preventing the boy from moving his own leg an inch from its awkward angle. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now.”

CRACK!

“AAGHHH!”

* * *

Jack refused to look up, huddled in the corner of the fridge, fetal position ruined by the outstretched leg he dared not try to move. Baby Tooth set next to him, her hands worrying at the staff Pitch had mockingly thrown in after Jack, claiming that now he would actually need it. Jack had gotten pulled the gag out of her mouth as soon as he could, and they had worked together to pull off the zip ties, but Jack refused to talk beyond that, scooting to his corner the instant they were both free. The girl glanced at Jack worriedly before pulling out a mini tablet. Just as a hunter or fighter hid knives and guns in various holsters in various places, she took measures to ensure she always had her weapons. The tablet would be useless to help them escape, there was no way to get any kind of signal in the freezer, but she had files saved on that computer that Jack needed to see.

She hadn’t known Jack couldn’t remember. If she knew this was what he’d wanted the whole time then… well, then things might have gone very differently. “Jack, I-“

“I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I try to help and I end up like this. They’re right. I make a mess out of everything.”

“Jack no!” But the boy didn’t respond. He simply ran his hands through snowy white hair. “Jack, you need to see this.”

The boy turned despondent eyes to her, only to flinch at the sight of the tablet. “Where did you even-“

“Not important. I never knew you couldn’t remember, if I had then I would have shown you this a long time ago.”

The boy took the device, fingers shaking with both emotion and cold. For a long time the two sat in complete silence as Jack devoured the word document, until suddenly he came to a picture, but not one of him. A little girl, with his eyes and chocolate brown hair and a mole under one eye and a heart melting smile. “Emma.” He breathed, and suddenly there was a shooting pain in his head and he was doubled over gritting his teeth against the pain.

* * *

  
_He was sitting in the hospital next to a pacing father… he was holding a warm bundle of warmth topped with chocolate brown fuzz cause he was a big boy and could handle holding his little sister… he was at the park playing with friends… he was proudly ‘showing his sister the ropes’ at the playground… he was winning T-ball and soccer games… he was cheering at a dance recital for a girl with chocolate brown hair… he was being called to the principal’s office and being told that his parents wouldn’t be coming to get him… he was promising his sister to always protect her… he was cheering his foster siblings up by turning chores into a game… he was pulling pranks and getting in trouble… he was with a family he really liked- Emma liked them too and that was the only thing that was really important…_

_Emma was begging him to take her skating one last time before vacation was over… he was promising to be careful… he was comforting his sister and making jokes as the ice cracked…_

_He was laughing with his sister as she tumbled to safe ice…_

_He heard a life stealing crack and he heard her cry out his name…_

_He saw nothing…_


	32. The Aim was Strong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Hope people are enjoying their reading! Almost coming to a close now!  
> Also, please comment! I love hearing from you!

Jack gasped as the pain ebbed, Baby Tooth folded over him blabbering frantically, but Jack could barely hear her.

“I have a sister. I- I have a sister! I saved her” The boy turned to the girl, triumphant, incredulous. “I- I can’t believe it! I have to find her, I- agh!” The boy cried out in pain as his movements jolted his broken leg. “We have to get out of here!” The boy exclaimed as though the realization just occurred to him.

“How?” Baby Tooth asked.

Suddenly the door opened with a woosh of warmer air, Alex Hunter standing proudly in the doorway.

“That works.” The young hacker mumbled.

“You have exactly six minutes to come up with a way to get out of here without blowing my cover.”

“Who’s on guard duty?” Jack asked immediately, all business.

“Guy named Bernard.”

“Think we could overpower him?”

“Not likely. He’s usually a body guard.”

“Whose bodyguard?”

“Some idiot fence named Rusty.” The girl scoffed.

Jack gaped and gripped the butt of his staff. “No. Way.”

* * *

 

“You owe me, Rusty.” Alex said, sliding onto the barstool beside the man, hoping no one else would overhear their conversation. The bar wasn’t high quality by any means, but it was right across the street from one of the labyrinth’s entrances, so it was full of overly excited criminal who had all gotten big scores from distracting the FBI.

“For what?” The man asked, clearly not on his first beer.

“Your Bernard has the bladder of an excited puppy, made me watch the ice brats while he took care of business.”

The man scoffed, lifting his drink up to his lips as the girl continued. “Eight minutes of the brat screaming through the door that he still had ‘the necklace’, and yelling about some Stanton Karter guy.”

She caught the moment the man chocked on his drink, but pretended to be looking over the menu. The man coughed lightly. “Necklace?”

“Mmh hmm. Gold and diamond or something, one of them was black. Kid must think I’m an idiot or something to fall for something like that.”

“Right. Um, interesting. Yeah I’m gonna, gonna go talk to Bernard about that.” The man stammered as he shot to his feet and began making his way out the door.

“Whatever,” The girl said in reply. “I’m getting a drink on your tab. The man nodded absently before rushing off. Alex grinned, waiting only a few moments before following the man into the labyrinth.

* * *

 

Rusty grinned as he saw his bodyguard standing bored in front of the freezer door. “Bernie, open the door.” He commanded as he neared.

The muscled man looked to his employer dubiously. “Not sure that’s a good idea. Pitch said to keep ‘em in no matter what.”

Rusty scowled. He never did like working for Pitch. He liked being a fence for the precise reason that he didn’t really have to answer to anybody. This ‘boss’ crap wasn’t really his style. Which just gave him more incentive to get the necklace. A couple mil would go a long way in getting him distance from the Boogeyman.

“I know what he said, and I’m saying open the door.”

Bernard hesitated, but he was a follower at heart, and moved to remove the lock. Rusty stood in front of the door, waiting in eager anticipation as the blast of cold air settled to reveal the kid still clutching his leg in the middle of the freezer. A look of shock and recognition crossed the brat’s face as the door opened fully and Rusty grinned. “So, I hear that you’re still trying to pawn off a certain necklace,” The man said, stepping into the freezer with Bernard right behind him. “Although, I must warn you, my original offer’s going to go down considerably considering the circumstances.”

“Please,” Jack scoffed. “You saw me throw the stupid thing over the bridge.” Though his hand grasped at the pouch of his hoodie as though protecting something within it. A grin made it’s way up Rusty’s face as he stalked forward, eyes locked onto the boy. Which is probably why he didn’t notice the crooked staff coming up to lock around Bernard’s ankle.

The large man let out a low gasp of air, the only warning Rusty got as the bodyguard fell forward to flatten the fence. Jack however, pushed off the wall with his one good leg to grip onto the staff as it was untangled from the man’s legs.

“See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya!” The teen cried as he gripped onto his trusty staff and Baby Tooth pulled him out of the freezer. Rusty and Bernard both scrambled to get up, but could do no more than pound on the door as it slammed in their faces.

“Yes!” Jack cackled, taking his crutch from Baby Tooth and struggling to his feet. “That was perfect. Now come on, we should get out of here before someone else comes to check in on us.

Alex scoffed. “Don’t worry, we have time.”

“What do you mean?” The teen asked.

“Bernard was one of the last people left in the caves. Everyone one else is celebrating a successful heist or committing one.”

Baby Tooth and Jack shared a glance. “Wait.” Jack commanded. “You’re telling me, that we are in the middle of Pitch’s labyrinth, all alone. Nobody else is here.”

A slow smirk worked its way past the woman’s lips. “Well, when you put it that way.”

Jack grinned back at her. “Are there still Nightmares guarding the kids.”

“There won’t be if you give me five minutes.”

“I’ll give you 10 if you give me your phone.” The woman dug in her pockets to toss it to him. “C’mon BT, let me show you to my office. Or more accurately, Pitch’s office.”

The three split, Jack turning to look at Baby Tooth as they hurried across the halls as quickly as he could hobble. “Think you can send stuff out without setting off any alarms like I did?”

The girl hummed. “I can take out the hard drive and hook it up to my tablet, but if they don’t have it saved there then we might just have to risk it.”

“Not unless the kids are already out.” Jack commanded, and the girl agreed immediately. Luckily, that wasn’t an issue, not only had the hard drive already been extracted, but it had most, if not all of the files they needed. Jack nodded at the girl before calling the only number on the phone that Alex didn’t have a contact name for.

            “Alex, finally!” Neal’s voice sounded through the phone and Jack let out a small sigh of relief. That had kinda been a long shot.

“Not quite.” He answered.

“Jack!” The conman shouted, if anything sounding even more relieved.

“Yeah, listen. Are you guy anywhere near a judge? And if not how soon can you find one.”

“What? Why? Look Jack, Peter is really- “

“Because Diana is about to get enough evidence against Pitch to get the warrant of all warrants. We’re working on getting the kids out. She should have a map of the labyrinth’s entrances too, get over here as soon as you can.” With that he hung up, already dialing again. This time the phone was answered by only a Yeti’s inquisitive grunt.

“Yo, call the rest of the Guardians and get your butts to the labyrinth and make sure no one else gets too far in until the FBI arrives or I get the kids out.”

“Wha- Jack!” The yeti yelled, “What the-“

“No time, see ya!” The teen cried, hanging up immediately before breathing out a quick breath of relief. Guardian or not, he wasn’t going to let the kids stay here another second.

“C’mon Baby,” He said as the girl hit send on her tablet. “I bet Alex is waiting for us by now.”

* * *

 

“Did you say that was Jack?” Peter asked as Neal stared dumbly at his phone and the ended call.

“Yeah,” The man answered, shaking himself slightly. “He said he’s sending Diana some information on Pitch and is going to try to get the kids out. Wants us to be ready to go as soon as the warrant goes through.”

Peter’s brows shot up and he nodded to the car, gesturing for one of the senior agents to take over for him. “Okay, then we’ll have to call for back up immediately and-“ The man’s phone was ringing before he finished the sentence, Diana’s name appearing as the contact.

Neal stepped forward to listen in, but before he could his own phone was ringing. The man looked at it in confusion, seeing the name of the local hospital as the ID. “Hello?”

“Hello, this is the Nancy Ross, Head nurse at New York City hospital. Is this Neal Caffery?”

“Yes?”

“I was instructed to call you if the condition of one of our patients changed and…”

* * *

 

“Jamie, come on kid wake up. Wake up.” The teen commanded as he shook the young brunet. The child grunted out an unhappy, scared grumble before shifting away from the teen’s shaking hands. Alex looked over from where she was picking the lock to the next cell, but said nothing when Jack gave the boy one more sharp jerk. “Jamie.”

The child woke with a start and a terrified cry that was quickly smothered by Jack’s pale hands.

“Sh-sh-shhhh! It’s ok Jamie it’s me: Jack. You remember me right?” The child was taking in heaving breaths as reality replaced his nightmare, though his pulse evened as he stared into familiar eyes. “Okay, good. Good.” The teen mumbled, taking his hands away from the child’s mouth

“Sophie,” The boy immediately whispered. “Sophie- she- she was with the park with us but I haven’t seen her and-“

“Sh! It’s ok, she’s safe, she’s ok and you’re gonna be fine. I’m gonna get you out of here. You just have to trust me, ok? Just believe in me.”

The boy started nodding just as Alex opened the lock and began to move to the next cell.

“Ok, good. Think you can help me wake up your friends?”

Jamie nods, and the two of them together move to the open cell. As far as rescue attempts go, that part wasn’t pretty. Jack was still hobbling on one leg, clutching the staff for dear life. The twins both woke up crying, Cupcake and, surprisingly, Monty woke up swinging, and it took all of them a solid few minutes to wake Pippa. Eventually though the children, traumatized but physically safe, were all awake and huddled together.

Jack frowned slightly at the bunch as he realized that they were the only ones still in the corridor. “Where’s Ale-“ A loud crashing of glass answered the unfinished question and Jack found himself hobbling towards Jamie’s cell. The thief was picking off the glass of the window and casually dumping it onto the cage floor. From the other side of the window Baby Tooth was doing the same. “Are you sure they’ll all fit?” The teen asked, fighting not to glance at cupcake.

“They’ll have to.” Alex answered. “We don’t have time to take them to any other exit.”

“Right, ok.” The teen mumbled before leaning down on his staff so that he was about eye level with the children but there was still no weight on his leg. “Do you guys remember my girlfriend from the other day?” The children nodded timidly. “Ok, she’d going to take you to the police. I need you to ask for Officer Meekins. He’s been looking for you for your parents. Let him know that there are lots and lots of bad people with guns here, and he needs to be prepared ok?”

The children nodded. “What about you?” Jamie asked worriedly and Jack shook his head. “I can’t go with you,” he nodded to his broken leg, still sticking out at an awkward angle. “I’d just slow everyone down. But don’t worry, I’m headed to the exit as soon as you’re all out.”

The children nodded just as Alex announced that the window was as glass-free as it was going to get. None of the children seemed to mind her wording, each of them desperate enough to escape that the thought of getting scraped with glass was the last of their concerns.

One by one each of the children were squeezed through the tiny hole, until Jack was watching Cupcakes shoes disappear through the window. “That’s everyone.” He called out, and Baby Tooth stuck her head back down.

“Be careful.” She commanded. “And get out of here now, no matter what.”

“Already on my way to the door.” The boy promised. Bethany nodded before turning to herd the children down the streets hurriedly.

Jack sighed, slumping in relief before turning a tired grin at Alex. “We got them out.” He said weakly.

The woman nodded, casting the boy a small smile before her face closed off, all business once more. “Now let’s get you out of here before-“

The sounds of smattering gunshots filled the air, along with those of breaking glass, curses, yells, and general chaos.

“-something like that happens.” The woman sighed. Jack however, simply grinned as one Russian voice yelled far above the rest. The Guardians had arrived.


	33. Fight- In Equal Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> second to last chapter! Just the Epilogue after this!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My prayers go out to all troops and those mourning or worried for loved ones this memorial day.

Come on,” Alex commanded, throwing one shoulder under Jack’s shoulder on his bad side. “You don’t need to be a part of this.”

Part of Jack wanted to protest, but a greater part knew that he would have been useless even without a broken leg. Fighting wasn’t exactly his strong suit. “Right.” He mumbled, following the woman’s lead as they began the twisting path towards the nearest exit. Alex continually looked back as they walked, the already significant walk almost doubled by Jack’s feeble hopping. Occasionally a turn would take them closer to the ever increasing noise, only for the next to take them further away. Neither said a word as they walked, yet their thoughts were mirrored. They would never make it getting swarmed by the fighters.

“Wait,” Jack commanded as they neared a door. He pushed it open to reveal an empty bedroom with plenty of hidey holes. “Both of us won’t make it, not with my leg. No one will see me if I hide in here, being invisible is my specialty. Find one of the Guardians, or an FBI agent, or one of the cops or something- someone with firepower- and show them this entrance. When they get through I’ll know the coast is clear and I can make it out.”

The woman nodded, gently easing the boy down and making sure he had his crutch to lean onto. “How will I recognize a Guardian?”

“Anyone dressed weird and carrying a weapon.”

“You are aware this is New York, right?”

Jack snorted, but he was already closing the door. Alex didn’t wait for a reply before hurrying down the hallway, intent on the exit.

The teen settled into a hiding spot, for long moments he sat in silence, making not the slightest noise as silence and the sounds of war alternated around him. Still, there was no sound of the cavalry running down his hallway, so he didn’t dare move. Until suddenly there was movement, from the wrong direction.

Jack huddled back further into his hiding space as a pair of heavy boots ran past the door from the thick of the fighting, the sound paired with the light jingling of bagged bullets. The teen held his breath as the steps ran a few steps before abruptly stopping a few feet down the hall. Jack heard one final jingle from the bag, as though the man turned, before the relative silence of the hall returned. The injured teen waited in the room for long moments, heart beating at a terrified, beatnik pace as he hid, completely helpless only mere feet from an armed criminal. Suddenly, the sounds of bullets filled the hallway, along with the sounds of the sells bouncing off of something metal. After a moment of ear shattering noise the sounds faded, and in the resulting silence Jack could vaguely hear the swish of metal, then a thud and the sound of a body dropping to the ground.

Once more, there was silence, the only noise the harsh breathing of Jack as he trembled in his hidey hole. Then, once more, the sounds of footprints. However, these were far from the ones the teen had heard earlier. They were light, dexterous, and walking away from Jack, as well as away from the man who’d entered earlier. He must have entered during the firefight. The steps stopped and Jack at once heard two, equally terrifying sounds: a familiar voice cursing in Australian and the jingle of a bullet bag further up the hallway. The man in the hall hadn’t been the one shooting, and now his sights would be on Bunny.

Without thinking Jack surged, vaulting up and crashing against the door, bursting it open and spilling out over the floor.

Bunnymund whirled from where he stood stooped over an unconscious Nightmare, steel boomerang in hand. His aggressive stance relaxed in shock as he recognized the teen, but he had no more time to do any more than that before the sound of a bullet ripped through the room and a shower of splinters fell onto Jack and Bunny had just enough time to drop before the shot went through the door directly to where he stood. Another bullet hit the door, this one lower, barely missing Jack’s head. The teen yelped and rolled away instinctively, unfortunately that left the way empty for the force of the next shot to send the door over half way to closed, leaving the two Guardians completely exposed to the armed Nightmare. Bunnymund began to surge to his knees, but he had no time to ready the boomerang and he knew it.

The Nightmare steadied the weapon, aimed, and swayed before falling flat on his face, a golden dart sticking from the back of his neck. Jack and Aster stayed crouched for a full moment paralyzed in shocked before slowly looking up to meet the eyes of their savior.

“Sandy!” Jack cried out in joyous surprise. The man simply winked, slipping another dart into his dart gun before running past them to the thick of the battle. Aster smiled as the man passed.

“That’ll turn the tide,” the man mumbled before turning to the teen still collapsed on the floor. He stopped after a moment, glancing between Jack and the door that had probably saved his life. “You saved me.” He said blankly, his mind stuck between replaying the last few moments and reminding him of his last phone call with the boy, what he’d said.

“Of course Cottontail.” Jack snorted, moving in attempt to straighten only to collapse back down in a pained huff. “I need my staff,” he admitted, jerking his head to the small room.

For the first time, Bunnymund really took in the sight of the teen- hair back to it’s startling white, ratty clothes rather than the recent new outfits, face a mess of scratches and splinters from the door, and leg broken and crooked at an odd angle- and cursed lowly. “What happened?” He asked as he reached past the boy for the crutch.

Jack grunted dismissively as he accepted the staff. “One of Pitch’s cronies just happened to be an old friend of mine. I’ve had worse.”

“Uh huh.” The forger replied, unconvinced. “An’ what were you doin here in the first place. Thought I told you to keep yer nose outta our business.”

Jack snorted, this time accepting Bunnymund’s help to hoist himself to his feet. “Trust me, I tried. Pitch kinda kidnapped me. You know, I’m kinda actually really getting tired of that by the way. Although, I would like to point out that this time there was a distinct lack of chloroform.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Aster said dismissively, gently tossing his boomerang in hand before suddenly whipping it down the hall, just as a Nightmare burst in. The man collapsed on top of his fallen comrade. “Did you really get the kids out?” The man asked hesitantly as he caught the weapon on the rebound.

“Yeah.”

“Good.” The man huffed before suddenly turning his back to the boy and crouching down.

“Uh…”

“Grab on, arms around my neck. I’m getting you out of here before something else happens.”

“Um…”

“Hurry up.” The Guardian commanded and Jack scrambled to obey, whimpering as the movement jostled the break. Bunnymund stood, but Jack was nearly his height, and his legs dangled painfully against the ground as the man moved. “This isn’t going to work.” The Guardian mumbled, only to pause and throw the teen into the room forcefully as the noises from the main room increased and footsteps sounded near them.

“Ah, Bunny!” North’s voice called out as the man ran into the corridor. “We must be going, police have swarmed the tunnels. They are taking care of Pitch’s men.”

“Good, yer here.” Bunnymund grumbled, scooping a squaking Jack up bridal style and dumping him into the surprised toymaker’s arms. “Take this.”

Jack winced as the movement jarred him, but it was far better than dangling behind Bunny, and the shocked look on North’s face almost made it worth it. “Hey there, so when you say police do you mean _police_ police or FBI?”

The man shook himself and began to follow Bunnymund through the twisting hall. “Police.”

Jack grunted interestedly. “FBI should show up any second then, surprised they weren’t here first.”

“Jack,” the beared man said suddenly, intently. “You saved the children.”

“Meh,” the teen shrugged, even as a lick of warm joy settled in his stomach. “Right place, right time kinda deal.”

“No. Is not meh. Is very big deal! You Jack, you saved them. You proved yourself as guardian when we were sitting, twiddling our thumbs. You acted.”

Jack shifted uncomfortably against the man’s grip. “It’s not like I did it alone,” he protested. “Baby Tooth was there too, she took the kids to the police and- oh, wait.” The boy squirmed as they made it outside. “You gotta put me down.”

“What?” North exclaimed eyeing the police cars lined up waiting near a different entrance to the labyrinth, officers already dragging Nightmares into the cars even as the sounds of battle continued to rage throughout the hideout.

“No, look, the kids told Officer Meekins that I was here. He’ll be more suspicious if he doesn’t see me.”

“But-“ Bunny began to protest.

“Seriously, you guys gotta go. I’ll wait till it’s died down a bit, get someone’s attention, and I’ll end up in the hospital or something getting this leg fixed.”

“There’s gonna be a lot of questions if you end up at the hospital.” Bunny mumbled, even as he nodded in agreement and helped North set the boy down. He was unprepared for the grin he got in return.

“It’s okay, I actually have some answers this time.” Answers like the name Jackson Overland. “And I’m hoping they could help me find someone.” Someone like Emma Overland.

The men didn’t look happy still and Jack ended up heaving a sigh. “Look, there are dozens of exits all over the place, shouldn’t you guys be making sure nobody sneaks out of any of them?”

North nodded, gripped Bunnymund’s shoulder and led him away, leaving Jack to lean against the alley wall in relief. However, the relief was short lived as a hissed “You!” suddenly sounded from the alley’s depths.

“This is all your fault!” Pitch emerged from the shadows, fury etched across his face. “You stopped my rise, my triumph. I had everything planned perfectly, until you showed.”

Jack tried to scrambled to his feet, only to freeze as the villain pointed a small pistol at him. The teen took a steadying breath. “Look dude, if your plan can be foiled by a homeless 15 year old, it probably wasn’t a good one.”

Pitch snarled, but said no more. Only cocked his pistol, and took aim at the prone child. BANG! A shot rang through the alley, finding its mark.

Pitch dropped the pistol as the bullet tore through his hand, leaving Jack to pant in wide eyed fear until he finally had enough motor control to turn and see Peter at the alley entrance, gun in hand with a fierce look on his face. “Pitch Black, you’re under arrest.”

Jack collapsed boneless against the alley floor as Neal slipped around where Peter was slapping the cuffs on Pitch and handing him off to one of the other agents. “You ok?” The elder conman asked.

“Oh you know, just peachy. Every teen wants to take down a crime boss on prom night.” The teen sighed back against Neal as Peter called some of the paramedics over. “Do you know- are the kids ok?”

“All of them made it to the police station except for the youngest, they’re still looking for her.”

The teen grunted. “Guardians had her. She should show up soon on the biggest sugar high any toddler parent has ever seen. Possibly with a few dozen new toys.”

“Jack,” Peter exclaimed, finally coming over to kneel next to the boy. “What happened?”

“Lots of stuff. A whole lot.” The teen groaned. Eyeing the stretcher being forced down the alleyway. “All that’s really important now: we won, the kids are ok, and I have a broken leg. And I’m tired.” He moaned as he was hoisted up into the stretcher. “Can I fill you in on the rest later?”

“Of course.”

“Good.” The boy mumbled as he was wheeled into the ambulance. “Cause I think I’m going into shock. Way too many near death experiences today.” He mumbled, as he dipped into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note: It is clear to Peter and the paramedics that any shock Jack is experiencing is mental/ emotional. If someone near you is going into shock and you don't know the reason do not let them fall asleep. It could be serious and falling asleep could make it worse. Thank you.


	34. Goodbye- and Keep Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! So our journey comes to an end. Thank you so much for all of my amazing readers and reviewers! I hope you had as much fun as I did!! 
> 
>  
> 
> I'm sorry if the ending is kind of abrupt. I tried to add more, but I just felt like my story was complete here. Anything after seemed like excess. Sorry to disappoint anyone who feels that it needs more.

When Jack came to he was already in a hospital bed, leg in a cast and face bandaged. On the bedside table beside him sat a pile of splinters and wood chips. “Did that all come out of my face?” He asked the empty room, only to jump in surprise as he got an answer.

“Most of them. Some came from your hands.”

The teen jerked to the voice to see Elizabeth sitting in the chair in the corner. “Oh. Guess I’m glad I was asleep for that.” He responded as the woman stood to smother him with a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re ok.” She mumbled into his hair and Jack let himself relax into the hold.

“Yeah.” He breathed, and for a moment there was a simple relieved silence.

“The boys will be here as soon as they can.” The woman told the boy, not changing position in the slightest. “They closed dozens of cases in one night. Peter’s doing anything he can to pawn off the arrests to someone else, but so far they aren’t letting him. Neal’s just working to keep the police from coming in to interrogate you until you feel better.”

“Oh. Ok.” The boy replied, not realizing how anxious he was at their absence until it was pointed out. “What about Mozzie?”

“He’s-“

“Here!” A voice interrupted as Mozzie rushed into the room, panting softly. “I’m here! Just heard the news. Jack, are you ok?”

“Yeah,” The boy smiled as Elizabeth straightened. “I mean, the kids are safe, Pitch is in prison, and all it took was a broken leg. Overall it was a pretty successful night.”

“Not to mention your plan to catch Noel worked like a charm.” Elizabeth added.

“That too.”

“Jack,” She suddenly frowned, looking over to the pile of clothing beside his bed and only spotting his ratty old clothes. “Speaking of that, what happened to your tux?”

The boy ducked his head down into his arms. “I pawned it.” He mumbled.

“What? Jack, why?”

For a moment the teen said nothing. Then, “I was leaving. Needed money.”

For a long moment nobody spoke, silence reighning as the sounds of harsh breathing filled the room. “Jack…” Mozzie finally mumbled, his eyes wide with both hurt and guilt.

“Not anymore! Like, I don’t plan on leaving now. Not anytime soon, I don’t think. I- I have to find someone now. I don’t know what’ll happen then, but for now I’ll be sticking around the city.”

“You’ll be staying with us.” The woman stated and Jack’s brow furrowed.

“But-“

“You’ll be staying with Peter and me or with Neal, and that is the end of it.”

Jack gaped at the woman for a moment before turning to Mozzie, but the conman was nodding with the woman, a stubborn look on his face, and the teen suddenly felt very small. “Are you sure?” He asked, so timid that Elizabeth felt her heart nearly break. “I-I mean, I’m not helping the FBI anymore. Not with the Guardians or with Noel. I- I’m not-“

“Jack, we want you to stay with us. I promise.”

The boy looked at her for a moment, turning to Mozzie once more only to see the same stubborn nod. “Ok.” He nodded timidly before grinning at the woman. The boy collapsed down against his hospital bed, leg swinging slightly in its elevated perch. “What a great day.”

“Finally got them to leave.” Neal sighed as he entered the room. “Believe it or not, Meekins was the one that got’ em to scatter and- Jack you’re up!”

“Yep.” The boy grinned. Neal mirrored the expression before his expression suddenly turned fiercely serious and he moved to kneel beside the hospital bed.

“I need you to know something.”

“Okay…”

“None of us knew anything about your amnesia. We had no clue that you couldn’t remember. If we had, Jack, I swear we would have done everything possibly to try and help you get your memory back. It’s our number one priority as soon as we get out of here.”

The boy looked at the man blankly. “Oh.” He’d never really thought about that. He didn’t talk about his amnesia, hated bringing it up, hated even thinking about the blank spot that replaced his memories. But he’d never intentionally hidden it. For him it was such a vital spot of his identity, of how he thought of himself, that he couldn’t remember that it wasn’t obvious for anyone who wasn’t him. To Jack his memory loss was as identifying as any physical mark. Neal had blue eyes, Jack had amnesia. It was weird to think that anyone couldn’t know. He shook himself. That didn’t matter. Not anymore. “That’s ok, I took care of that.”

“You… what?”

“I’ve had a very eventful day.”

“Sounds like it.” Neal stood back up as he spoke, still looking at Jack with concern, though he was much more relaxed than he had been. As he moved he caught sight of Mozzie standing in the open doorway, staring in rigid concentration down the hall. “You ok Mozz?”

“Huh?” The man jumped, startled. “Oh, yeah. I was just… wondering if I might get a chance to see the Guardians if they come to check on Jack. But I don’t really see anyone.”

The teen snorted. “They’re probably just as busy as Peter.” Catching the criminals the police and FBI didn’t, returning Sophie, keeping the Pooka from showing up, bringing the Baby Teeth back, destroying anything left of Pitch’s empire. They had a lot to get done. “And even if they were here they’d probably be in hiding until you guys left.”

“Well, they’ll be waiting a while then.” Elizabeth declared. “Because I know of a group of kids down getting examinations that would love to come and say thanks. Want me to tell them you’re ready?”

“Duh!” Jack exclaimed, but the woman was practically already out the door.

Neal shook his head fondly at the boy. “Speaking of the kids, what are you planning to tell Meekins about how you found them?”

“The truth. I was kidnapped, they broke my leg, then they left us alone and I managed to escape. Pretty cut and dry. I mean, they practically caught everyone and they found the labyrinth. The only thing I have to keep secret is the Guardians. And Baby. And Alex. But other than that…”

Neal snorted. “Good luck with that.”

“So what happened?” Mozzie asked. “I want a story.”

“Oh, I’ll give you a story.”

* * *

 

  Jack was just finishing up with Peter saving the day and shooting Pitch’s gun when Elizabeth led the children into the room.

“Jack!” The kids shouted as they entered the room, all surrounding the bed and clamoring to talk to the teen.

Jack laughed as they surrounded his bed, Sophie following behind with a wide grin. “Hey guys. How are you guys feeling?”

“Better than we were.” Jamie answered, and the others nodded.

“I’m just glad you’re out of there and safe.”

The kids nodded, a dark look passing across their expression. “I don’t think our parents will let us go to the park anymore for a while.” Cupcake suddenly said. The teens shared a glance, as if to say that they weren’t sure they wanted to go anytime soon.

“That’s ok. I won’t be up for playing much at the moment anyway.” The boy nodded to his leg. The children nodded, but the darkness didn’t life from their expressions and the teen was left scrambling to distract them. There, in the hospital, with officers constantly coming and going through the room Jack distracted the children with word games, riddles, and jokes until a group of parents filled the doorway.

The children quieted when they caught sight of their parents, each child moving from Jack to latch on to their family, the terrifying time apart making them cherish every second, even though the children had been with their parents before coming to see Jack.

Each of the adults hugged their kids, clutching them tightly, but as they straightened one woman came forward to take Jack’s hand. “Thank you so much for bringing my children back to me.” She said sincerely, and suddenly Jack was surrounded by grateful, enthusiastic parents. Where the boy had been enthusiastic and natural with the children, he felt a timid lack of confidence around the parents and stammered through responses until the group began to leave. He waved at the children as they left, only for Jamie to rush forward to hug his neck.

“If we don’t go to the park, what if I never see you again?”

“We will. I’m sure of it. And even if we don’t, I’m Jack Frost. I’m in every flake of snow and patch of ice. As long as you remember me I’ll be wherever you have fun in the snow, even if I’m not there.”

“What if I forget?”

“Then I’ll still be there. You don’t forget the sun when it’s cloudy, do you?”

“No.”

“Exactly. But it's still shining, always there.”

* * *

 

 

Peter didn’t get in until nearly the end of visitor hours, and no amount of begging or flashing his badge could get him to stay over an hour past usual times. Unfortunately, they were planning to keep Jack overnight. Which had little to do with his broken leg and everything to do with him passing out in front of the ambulance.

Somehow Jack was wholly unsurprised when five figures flooded the room less than ten minutes after the boy had been finally left alone.

“Ugh!” Jack groaned loudly as he flopped back into the bed, but that didn’t stop a half frantic Tooth Fairy from leaning fully across the bed to pull the boy into a tight hug.

“Jack, Jack you did it. I can’t believe it.” As she cheered at the boy Baby Tooth came at his other side and trapped him into a hug as well.

The teen squirmed jokingly, but allowed himself a small smile. “Me neither.”

The girls let go just in time for Jack to be completely swept into North’s arms and Jack let out a protesting squawk as the movement pulled at his leg cast. “Ok- ok that’s enough.”

The man set him down with an apologetic glance and Sandy squeezed by to pat his arm comfortingly. Jack squeezed at the shorter man, feeling the slight pinpricks of water threatening in the corner of his eyes as he processed the man’s presence fully for the first time. “Sandy. You’re ok. You-you woke up.”

The man shot the teen a thumbs up and lifted himself onto his tiptoes to ruffle through his pale hair and Jack felt himself smiling at the touch. “Glad to see you man.”

He looked up to the one Guardian not engaging in the love fest to see Bunnymund at the foot of his bed, smiling at the teen with his eyes shining in content pride. Pride… pride in Jack.

“Ya did good kid. Yer a guardian through and through.”

“Yes!” North agreed. “I always knew you were right man for job! Man in Moon is never wrong and I could feel it! In my belly!”

“Right.” The teen laughed.

“And that actually brings us to business Jack.” Tooth interjected.

Jack felt his face fall at the words business. He’d thought they came to visit him, not conduct business. The woman, oblivious, simply nodded, nearly buzzing with excess energy.

“Now, if you remember, you agreed to just work this one job and only if we paid you, right?”

“Oh. Uh, right. About that, by the way-“

“But we don’t want that Jack.” The woman interrupted.

“Huh?”

“We- all of us- were wondering if you’d reconsider our original offer. Jack, we want you to become a real Guardian, with us.”

“Huh?”

“No payments- other than this first one of course- no contracts, no “jobs”. We just want you to be part of our team.”

North nodded. “Is fine even if you don’t want to mess around with stealing anymore. That is my job! After all, Man in Moon first assigned you job as FBI consultant, and I am thinking this will be useful again.”

The boy swallowed thickly and looked around the small room. North had his arms open wide, as if he were offering the teen the world. Bunny nodded at him once, Sandy shot him a thumb’s up, and Tooth was flashing him a truly blinding grin. Baby Tooth had gripped his arm and met his eyes with wide, pleading ones.

Jack felt a smile begin to bloom across his face. “Of course. You didn’t really think you’d get away from me that easily, did you?”

“Excellent!” North boomed so loudly that Jack was surprised it didn’t immediately send nurses running for the room. “We must celebrate!”

“Sure, sure, sounds good. How about a time when I’m not in the hospital though. You know, just a suggestion.”

“Of course.” North nodded and Bunnymund snorted at the man.

“Where are you going when you get released?” Tooth asked seriously.

“Oh, I uh, kinda got a permanent invitation to like with the Burkes. And uh, Mrs. Burke kinda scares me? So I’m gonna take it for now. And hey, you know, it’ll help with the whole consultant thing.”

Tooth giggled lightly. “Okay, good. Just know that if you need to, for any reason at all, our homes are always open. You’re family now, Jack.”

“Thanks.” Jack smiled and the room was silent for a long moment as each Guardian reflected on the all-consuming contentedness of an important job well done. Finally though, Jack cleared his throat. “Actually, just to get all of our bases covered, Baby Tooth already gave me what I was going to request for my payment. But if you want to insist on doing more, then there is someone I kinda need to find.”

“I’ve tried calling the number on your sister’s file all night.” Baby Tooth suddenly said. “Ever since they finished questioning me. No one’s answering their home phone and the files didn’t include a cell. Trust me though, as soon as I get through you’ll be the first to know.”

Jack nodded even as a pit of worry formed in his stomach. No. He just found his sister again, he couldn’t lose her now. “Thanks.” He said and the room descended into a silence a bit more strained than before.

* * *

 

Mozzie rose a wineglass to himself in salute to Neal’s empty apartment. The taller conman was with Peter settling all of the arrests so that they could be done in time for Jack’s coming home party the next day. In only a few hours the boy would finally meet up with his sister. They’d decided to keep it a secret, to surprise the boy. Mozzie couldn’t wait.

The man sighed with a smile as he rose the wineglass to his lips with one hand and pulled out one of his burner phones with the other. He’d only just heard of Jack really a few months ago and he certainly hadn’t been in a good place then. Now though… now he was part of the Guardians, part of the Burke family and part of his team. Jack had a home now, a team, and a sister. Pitch was in jail, as were dozens of the worst scum New York could offer. The kids were safe, not only Jack’s friends but all of the potential kids Pitch could have attacked. The FBI knew just enough about the Guardians, and Neal knew a little more but certainly not everything. He knew enough to help now. It had been a long, hard road but in the end everything turned out alright.

In fact, he thought as he looked to the screen of his phone, you could almost say everything went perfectly as he’d hoped.

**Message Sent:**

**JACK FROST: FBI CONSULTANT**

* * *

 

“So if this is a welcome back party does that mean Elizabeth made cake?”

“Yes I made cake.” The woman laughed as Jack cast her a grin from the back seat.

“And pizza?”

“Well I made the dough, but I thought you could add the toppings yourself.”

“Sweet!” The teen cheered and Peter grinned from the driver’s seat. If Jack was this excited about food, he couldn’t wait until he saw his sister. The teen was practically jumping in his seat. “So whose all coming? Just Mozzie and Neal?”

“Anybody else you know to ask?” Peter deflected, then frowned. He avoided the question a little too easily, was he spending too much time with Neal. Jack, however, didn’t seem to notice.

“I guess not. Oh wait- what about, oh no. We got her dad arrested. What happened to Bethany anyway?”

“I think she’s staying with an aunt, someone by the name of Tatiana Fae or something.”

Jack let out a barking laugh from the back seat, but when the pair in front turned to look at him he simply replied “inside joke.” Though he continued to giggle about it until Peter finally parked the car. Elizabeth was by the side of his door in an instant, helping him out of the car.

“Ooh, getting served hand and foot, I could get used to this.” The teen laughed, though he kept his eyes on the ground as he attempted to hobble across the path to the door. He hadn’t made it half-way however before the loud bang of a door startled him into looking up and into the chocolate brown eyes of an angel.

“Emma.” He whispered, voice hoarse as all air rushed out of him.

“Jack.” The girl cried, her voice broken by a rough sob as she tore down the steps. Jack fell to his knees, ignoring his cast as he clutched the girl to his chest desperately. He felt tears slipping across his face, matching the wetness growing where Emma had her face pressed against his shoulder. The ‘guess we’re moving back to New York’ uttered by a stranger’s voice on the stoop only made the tears stream harder.

* * *

 

My name is Jackson Overland, and I am a Guardian. How do I know that? The ones I love told me so. And with them by my side I’ll never forget again.


End file.
